Second Playthrough Blues (The Golden)
by RRM25
Summary: This is a remake of a favorite dead fanfiction of mine originally by Zanegar. The Plot revolves around Yu and his Persona Izanagi not getting the true ending of the original Playstation 2 game so they have to go back and do it all over again. Yu is aware of events but is unable to tell the others or else he repeats the day he screws up on. This secondplaythrough is Golden.
1. Chapter 1

New Game Plus - Chapter 1 [Volume I]

{March 21, 2012} {Sunny}

It had been an eventful year in the life of the current Wild Card. In the last couple months, Yu Narukami had discovered his **Persona** and met several new people and friends whose genuine bonds he will cherish for the rest of his life and especially meeting the "girl" whom he had connected with...Leaving Chie...It was strange, they had become so close to one another in the span of a year that the fact that they fell in love was inevitable. Yu would be lying to himself if he did not wish to stay.

"It's sad to see it all go... but I guess like all good stories, it must have an end." Yu thought sitting in the train leaving Inaba... He gazed out his train seat window to the sunny countryside passing by...

"I will miss them as well..." A voice rang inside Yu's Head suddenly... it was his initial Persona, Izanagi, a masked figure wearing a black long coat with a white headband appeared next to him and together they watched as the train left the station, both taking in a last glance of the friends they have made over the months in Inaba.

"...Even Jiraiya?" Yu sarcastically thought out to Izanagi.

"Yeah...even Jiraiya." The Japanese God said with a tired sigh. he began to recall a memory much earlier in the year.

* * *

{Many months earlier…}

{June 6, 2011}

"Psst! Izanagi! Hey, Izanagi!" Jiraiya whispered loudly from behind Yosuke's desk in Classroom 2-2. The Japanese God quickly shushed him as their user's class was currently taking place.

"Izanagi, we are Personas. Only others and their users can see and hear us." Tomoe stated to Izanagi from near Chie's seat, he faced toward her and spoke.

"I know that...I just do not wish to disrupt Yu's increasing knowledge." Izanagi explained to yellow-cladded warrior. He then turned again over to Jiraiya, appearing with a slightly annoyed expression his mask was seemingly capable of making.

"What is it?" Izanagi was visibly irritated by the Ninja Frog not being quiet for class.

"I-I just didn't want the new guy to hear us!" Jiraiya then pointed in a direction outside the classroom, where Take-Mikazuchi and Kanji stood waiting near the end of the second floor.

"Why?" Izanagi questioned him about it.

"You saw what kind of shadow he was!" A mortified Jiraiya explained to his "Partner."

"Tell me...what can I do if he starts hitting on me or something?!" Jiraiya asked The Old Japanese God in a loud whisper, Izanagi proceeded to face palm at the childish paranoia of Yosuke's froggy Persona.

"Will you all be quiet?! Yukiko-sama is trying to concentrate!" An angry Konohana Sakuya scolded the others, she was near Yukiko's desk.

"Yeah? Well, Yosuke's trying to concentrate on Yukiko!" A moody Jiraiya with his arms folded while looking the other way from her.

"WHAT!?" Shouted Konohana angrily as Yosuke cringed in embarrassment at his Persona giving away his innermost thoughts. To all who were observing that day in class, watched poor Yosuke (and Jiraiya too) spontaneously burst into flames. Only The Seekers of the Truth and their Personas will truly know what exactly occurred on that day.

* * *

{Present Day}

{March 21, 2012} {Sunny}

Izanagi fondly recalled that memory, he had a humorous look on his mask...

"I will really miss them all... but we shall see them again..." The God told his user.

"I can't wait." Yu thought hopefully as they were leaving the general area of Inaba, suddenly a heavy feeling came over The Fool, he quickly fell into a deep sleep. Izanagi watched over him, already anticipating that the Investigation team had missed something in their search for the truth. Yu awoke inside the luxurious Velvet Room in his unconscious state.

"...Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor greeted The Wild Card from his seat in the now parked limousine...

"We have much to discuss...though it has been many months since your victory over the great Fog spirit, I give you my congratulations for reaching this end." Igor explained why he summoned the Fool here...

"Thank You... I did have a feeling you were going to summon me again..."Yu said as he was taking in the familiar sights of the Velvet Room from his seat.

"Well, You're right as rain about that!" Margaret said smiling at their guest, she was sitting in her usual spot next to Igor.

"But it seems that even with your keen attributes you have been fooled by the bewildering fog…" Igor stated as he was pouring himself a drink.

"What do you mean?" Yu questioned the long-nosed man.

"Your work in the Inaba region was left unfinished..." Igor drank and sat the glass on the table in front of him with Yu seeing he was rather displeased with his guest's results.

"Well then, just tell me what I missed..." Yu pressed him for answers as to why he felt that way, Igor began to smirk at his guest and spoke with a more mischievous-sounding tone.

"I'll ask you this...even if you yourself have any ideas about the criminal's Identity, please keep them to yourself...as your clues or theories may deprive others the fun of finding the truth themselves...besides the truth you find...may not be the real truth." Igor vaguely explained to The Wild Card, leaving Yu somewhat scared and confused as to what he really means by that.

"Wh-What?" Yu felt nervous and shaken by Igor's words. Yu looked toward Margaret for an answer to what her master truly meant as he said that.

"You will face great hardships, however this is another chance... Keep your eyes open and see through the fog that shrouds the truth you may want to find, please keep this in mind on the second round of your journey. Please think of the reason why you didn't have a shadow… but achieved a persona nonetheless. Think about your ability to enter the TV World whenever you call for it. If you manage this, the real truth shall reveal itself." Margaret explained to the grey-haired boy with a gentle look of concern as he was really confused by all this.

"But what about Adachi, Kunino-Sagiri, and Ameno-Sagiri? Weren't they the ones behind all this mess?" Yu argued from his position with the information he got on his journey.

"They were only instruments for a much grander **conductor**." With serious eyes, Igor then gazed down at his small but fancy blue table without his familiar grin...

"The Fog will return even with them out of the picture..." An also serious Margaret followed up on Igor's words.

"I-I have to go back and warn them!" Yu was now in a panic for his friends and loved ones...

"Unfortunately it's too late, that time has passed now... the general flow of time is like a calm river that will never stop… but it's flow of certain events can be changed…" Igor looked up from the table and gave Yu his familiar grin which came across as 'Good Luck' to him.

"Because your actions can change all of it...until we meet again." Margaret then cheerfully waved her goodbyes to Yu.

* * *

{April 11, 2011} {Cloudy/Rainy}

"Wait!" Yu shouted...waking himself up from his sleep, he was still seating in his seat on the train...

"Now arriving at Yaso-Inaba...Yaso-Inaba." Said the conductor over the intercom nearby.

"Arriving...?" Yu pondered deeply about that in his seat.

"But didn't we just leave...Izanagi...?" Yu asked his initial Persona in the mind, he received no answer.

"What happened while I slept...Izanagi...!" Yu quickly searched his mind for his Persona but was nowhere to be found.

"Wait...second round...my actions...they were only Instruments?" Yu thought hard about the words that Igor and Margaret had left for him as he got off at the train station at Inaba. Yu was slowly coming to a realization due to his high **Understanding**.

"IT COULDN'T BE!" Yu then turned a direction where a man was already approaching him as if he knew this beforehand.

"Hey! Over here!" The man shouted with Yu breaking out in cold sweat as he was getting nearer.

"I'm your mother's younger brother, Ryotaro Dojima..." Dojima said to his nephew, Yu then proceeded to shake his uncle's hand while laughing hysterically like a mad man in his head.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: These first couple chapters were in the early days of this Remake, trust me it gets more detailed as goes on.**

 **Key Word: Persona** is other the "self" of someone controlled by the ego, personae protect their users from the "hardships" in life.


	2. Chapter 2

The First Day - Chapter 2

{April 11, 2011} {Cloudy/Rainy}

"U-Uh...it's been a long time…" Yu quickly told Dojima nervously shaking his uncle's hand, Nanako looked somewhat curious of Yu, as she never met her cousin before.

"You're telling me...I haven't seen you since you were a little kid." Dojima replied with a soft expression to his grown nephew.

"Oh I forgot! This my daughter...Nanako." Dojima moved a little aside, revealing a shy Nanako was behind him. The young girl was nervous in meeting her older cousin. Yu lowered himself to meet her.

"Hello Nanako..." Yu said remembering fondly of her from his last journey, he gave his cousin a nice smile.

Nanako's cheeks flushed at Yu's sudden gentleness, and quickly hid behind Dojima again.

"Why are you acting so shy?" Dojima chuckled at her reaction. Nanako hit her father from behind in embarrassment as Dojima began to laugh. Yu began smiling at his second family's humorous squabble.

"I guess starting over won't be so bad." Yu thought rather happily about this, also trying to stay calm about the situation.

On top of the train station, The Personas of the Investigation team were closely watching Yu and his family's first "technical" meeting.

"Yeah! He's not your uncle, he's your mother's younger brother!" Jiraiya began laughing at the oddity of Dojima's words. Izanagi stood next to him along with the other Investigation Team Personas watching Yu's arrival play out. The Wild Card was unable to see them as he was not a Persona user yet.

"Oh hush...he was merely greeting him..." Izanagi said to Jiraiya who was still laughing.

"...But it is a little odd to say it like that…" The Japanese God quickly added.

"Anyway...it'll be a while till we get to reveal ourselves to the others." Tomoe stated to the group.

"Maybe it's best to stay with our users until it's time…" Konohana said as she started remembering she was once a shadow, and at that moment every persona began to recall the events of their birth, knowing they would soon revert back to shadows as time demanded it.

"...I think you may be right…" Izanagi told her in response.

"B-But can't we hang out until then too?" Jiraiya wondered as well as changing the heavy subject.

"Of course." A caring Izanagi laid a hand on partner's shoulder comforting him.

"What do you have in mind?" Izanagi asked the thinking Ninja Frog.

"Can this really be happening?" Yu thought as he sat in Dojima's car on the way back to his residence after a long trip.

"Is it truly the beginning again? It seems that no one remembers about anything that happened over the year. I also don't have Izanagi right now..." Yu checked his phone.

"I don't have any of the guys' numbers...maybe…I am in the past..."

Dojima pulls up to Moel gas station, with Yu not taking notice.

"Welcome to Moel!" Says a gas station attendant running up to the car, very close to being bashed by it too.

"Can you get to the bathroom by yourself?" Dojima asked Nanako while Yu is still in deep thought.

"Uh-huh." Nanako assured her dad. The father and daughter got out of the car, with Dojima walking up to the attendant.

"It's in the back to the left. You know which way is left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." The Attendant playfully instructed Nanako, she rolled her eyes slightly.

"I Know...Geez." An annoyed Nanako commented as she ran off to the bathroom.

"Taking a trip?" The Attendant asked Dojima.

"No, we just picked him up by the station, he's from the big city." Dojima pointed over to Yu.

"Give it a complete fill." Dojima told The Attendant as he looked around the station.

"Yes Sir." The Attendant replied and then started walking over to Yu who just got out of the family car to stretch his legs.

"Good time for a smoke..." Dojima walked outside the station, and began lighting a cigarette.

"From the big city huh? I'm sure you'll get bored here pretty quick since there is not much here. You may want to be doing part-time work or hanging with friends if you want to avoid that." The Attendant advised Yu as he technically is a newbie in this town.

"You know...we might have a spot for you here. Give it some thought. We don't mind if you're in school." The Attendant gestured for a friendly handshake with the city boy. Yu absent-mindedly shook the attendant's hand since his current situation was on his mind too much. Suddenly Yu started feeling ill, feeling like his mind was split open. Yu held a hand to his head in pain.

"Think I might be exhausted from the long trip and this whole thing going on." Yu was trying to find a reason for feeling like this. The Attendant left immediately as Nanako came back from the bathroom. The young girl of Justice gazed up at Yu...who was a little fatigued.

"You okay? You don't look well." Nanako remarked to her cousin as she looked up at his face.

"...You're right...but I'll be fine." Yu told his young cousin and removed the hand from his grey hair.

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Daytime]

"Back here again, huh..." Yu sighed to himself gazing up at the family house. He quickly followed Nanako and Dojima into their home. Later, Yu sat down for dinner in the living room with his family that lived out in the country.

"A Toast." Dojima raised his drink seemingly trying to make Yu feel welcomed. Dojima stirred up a conversation.

"Your parents are working overseas huh? Must be tough getting moved from place to place all the time because of them...Anyways it's just me and Nanako here and it seems nice to have someone like you around so make yourself feel at home." Dojima told his grey-haired nephew.

"I'll do just that." A sitting Yu remembered what he had told Dojima before.

"Good...now let's eat!" Dojima was about to dig in with his family, suddenly he got a phone call.

"Dojima speaking…yeah...I see...where is it?" Dojima was on the phone.

"Okay." He ended the call and got up from the living room table.

"Sorry, I got a call from work… I'll be a while...you guys can eat without me. Nanako help your cousin out okay?" Dojima told the others before leaving.

"Okay..." Nanako in reply to her father, she sounded sad. Dojima left the home, Yu knew where he was headed, knowing there was never enough time to stop such an event from happening. Yu became a little bitter about it in his mind until he found himself alone with Nanako...again, A weather report shows on the screen indicating rainy weather coming later on.

"Let's eat." Nanako dug into her dinner.

"What does your dad do for work?" Yu asked Nanako only out of making conversation since he already knew the answer.

"He's a detective...he investigates crimes and catches bad guys." Nanako in response to him asking about her dad. The news comes on, telling the story of secretary Namatame having an affair with local reporter Mayumi Yamano and his wife enika singer Misuzu Hiiragi is pressing charges against him.

"This is boring..." Nanako switched the channel on the TV in the corner of living room mindlessly with Yu staring at her with a sad expression, unable to tell her how much she will be involved in the case.

"Man this sucks..." Yu thought sadly. The Junes commercial comes on with Nanako singing along to it.

"Everyday's great at Your Junes!" Nanako sang happily making Yu forget his troubles with her cuteness, it gave him resolve to save her quickly when certain events will happen.

"I'll be prepared for it when the time comes..." Yu thought confidently.

"A-Aren't you going to eat?" Nanako was staring at Yu who was staring at her fondly resulting in creeping her out a bit.

"Y-Yeah..." Yu nervously from his actions, He later helped The young girl clean up their home right after...

"House work goes much faster when there's two people!" Nanako said happily as she watched TV in the corner of their living room, a tired Yu went up to his own room after calling it a day...

* * *

Author's Notes:


	3. Chapter 3

Three's a Company, Eleven's a Crowd - Chapter 3

{April 11, 2011} {Cloudy/Rainy}

Yu opened the door to his room upstairs in the home and began to unpack his stuff, he started taking time to set up the room like it was before he left.

"...Okay...everything is almost unpacked…again..." Yu strangely still had all of the stuff his friends gave him for helping sort out their issues.

"All I need to do now is put my books in..." The grey-haired boy thought while sorting out his desk.

"Here you go." A tall frog Ninja handed him a stack of books.

"Thanks Jiraiya...WAIT JIRAIYA!" Yu dropped the books in shock to see Yosuke's frog-like Persona in his room.

"Hi!" Jiraiya waved playfully to him.

"How the heck can I see you?" Yu questioned the Frog Ninja.

"Igor gave us the details of what's going on so we came to stay with you until our owners reclaim us." Jiraiya explained to him.

"Wait...we?" Yu asked in fear of the unknown...suddenly a large dark figure emerged from behind the grey-haired protagonist.

"I'm sorry for disappearing on thou..." Izanagi spoke in an apologetic tone, scaring the crap out of his user. Yu turned around with his initial Persona bowing respectfully to further show his apology.

"I-Izanagi?" Yu was stunned to see his Persona again so soon, suddenly a small blue figure flew on to the boy's shoulders.

"Where are all your toys!? You and Naoto should have more toys around!" The child-like Sukuna spoke cheerfully to her user's senpai.

"It's nice to see you too...Ah, Sukuna..." Yu said in surprise to Naoto's Persona. Sukuna Hikona flew up to the ceiling of the room to let the grey haired boy have some personal space.

"Oh, what does this do?" Himiko, the team's enemy scanner and Rise's Persona picked up one of Yu's very fragile models off the shelf near the door (it was a cool Gunpla model). She then accidentally drops it and the model falls to the ground, destroying completely upon impact.

"Oopsie my bad..." Himiko was embarrassed to say the least, Yu became visibly sadden as he had worked on that model for several days in the future...past...whatever .

"You should be more careful next time, Himiko..." Tomoe, Chie's Bruce lee-inspired Persona said as she picked up the pieces of the model and then threw them in the trash.

"I-Is everyone here?" Yu was dreadfully shaking in fear of more unintentional destruction to personal his stuff.

"Look outside." Jiraiya pointed toward the window with his webbed finger and a gleeful look on his face. Yu looked out the window behind the love seat in his room with Kintoki, Take-Mikazuchi, and Konohana waiting outside on the street nearby.

"Hurry and sleep! You must not keep Yukiko-sama waiting!" Konohana, Yukiko's bird-like Persona began tapping her foot impatiently.

"Igor...You BASTARD!" Yu reacted by shouting at the top of his lungs while Igor and Margaret were having a swell time playing with the Tarot cards in the Velvet Room. After a while, Izanagi managed to calm his user down from raging on.

"Okay...what the hell am I going to do with all of You?" A seemingly calm Yu wondered on how to cope with his current situation as he looked around with his eyes filled with annoyance as the team's Personas were spread across his room checking things out with the exception of Take and Kintoki, as Konohana managed to squeeze herself in too.

"I feel left out…" Take was in the fetal position on the roof of the home. As Kanji's Persona, he was too large and seemingly mechanical to fit inside.

"Hey at least you have me!" The ball-shaped Kintoki tried to cheer up his friend as he was sitting next to him... as he couldn't fit ether plus he was always carrying a live tomahawk missile which could probably destroy Yu's home.

"Thank you!" Take was grateful nonetheless for the effort.

"Okay guys, I need sleep and I doubt I could do that with all of you here...so go out and do something amongst yourselves." Yu told the personas in his room as they continued looking around.

"Maybe you can all try to find your user's homes?" Yu suggested to the Team's Personas.

"Fine by me! Come on guys!" The Frog Ninja was enthusiastic to leave as he already had plans while walking out the grey-haired boy's door.

"Let's head to the shrine!" Jiraiya shouted as he made his way downstairs in the home with other Personas filling out one by one except Izanagi who remained with his user.

"Are you coming along, Izanagi?" Tomoe asked the Japanese God curiously as she reached the doorway...

"I apologize but I must stay here with Yu. He needs me for these crucial days." Izanagi bowed to the yellow cladded warrior at the door.

"I-I... Understand." Tomoe appeared somewhat sad to see Izanagi stay, Yu took notice to this and knew that Izanagi was dense with these types of things and so, tried to convince him to go with them for the night...

"Maybe you should accompany them." Yu suggested to his Persona, he knows that Tomoe has the hots for him.

"Thou sure? But what if something happens?" Izanagi questioned but already knew the answer in Yu's eyes.

"I'll be fine." Yu casually waved off Izanagi as he headed toward the grey-colored futon in the corner of his room.

"B-But!" Izanagi reached out to him as Konohana stepped in front of Tomoe and took Izanagi's arm forcefully. The panicking Japanese God tried to fight her grasp.

"C-Come on Izanagi, w-we'll have some fun TOGETHER!" A clingy Konohana wanted to make sure the yellow-cladded warrior could hear her clearly. The cherry blossom Goddess basically started dragging him out by his coat collar with Tomoe following them out.

"Don't worry Izanagi, I'll have you back here in time…" Tomoe stated quietly to her crush with a nice tone of voice as he was smacked against each step of the stairs on the way down.

"T-Thank you Tomoe..." The God sighed in relief as he was dragged but still worrying as he was going to be away from his user's home in a time of need.

* * *

[Outside Dojima Residence, Midnight]

On the driveway just outside the front door of the home...

"Ok, what do you plan to do at the shrine?" Izanagi managed to get on his feet after being dragged, the Personas were standing in a circle.

"A dance party without trying to scare any humans." Jiraiya said in irony of something that happened earlier.

(What happened earlier...)

"Fine by me, come on guys!" Jiraiya came down with the others following him out. As they headed down the stairs, Nanako was heading up the stairs to see what was going on in her cousin's room.

"Uh, who were you talking to?" Nanako curiously questioned Yu while standing in the middle of the steps on the way up until suddenly, an invisible force picked her off the ground.

"Sorry Nanako, I have to move you outta the way." The Frog Ninja gently picked up the young girl with his arms and continued down the stair steps.

"Wh-What's Happening?" Nanako was needless to say, surprised of what was currently happening.

"There you go! Now come on guys!" Jiraiya set her down carefully on her feet after reaching the bottom of the stairs and continued on to the front door of the home.

"Ghosts..." Nanako was shaking in fear of them possibly being in her house.

* * *

[Central Shopping District, After Midnight]

"You know you probably traumatized her..." An unamused Tomoe added to Izanagi's and Jiraiya conversation.

"No! I don't think so! She's a tough girl!" Sukuna Hikona was playfully flying in circles above them.

"A dance Party?" Himiko thought about Jiraiya's suggestion.

"Says the Disco Ninja Frog!" Sukuna teased Jiraiya.

"That's Jiraiya's nickname!" Kintoki began laughing, While the Frog Ninja looked nonplussed about it.

"Can't we just get along?" Take spoke softly as a local bird landed on his hand, he decided to use his other hand to shelter it from the rain, his user's gentleness rubbed off on him.

"I'd say we all go shopping! Rise-chan and I did that all the time!" Himiko forgetting Jiraiya's idea.

"Uh, Himiko-san...we don't have any money and normal humans can't see us." Konohana told the team's enemy scanner.

"if I remember correctly, Clothes are exchanged for money, but I do know something we don't need money for..." Tomoe looked like she was gearing up to pose.

"Let me Guess…" Jiraiya readied himself for it.

"TRAINING!" Both Jiraiya and Tomoe shouted enthusiastically in unison while doing the same pose. The yellow cladded warrior then smacked the Frog Ninja for teasing her.

"That's no fun! Let's trick humans into thinking Inaba is Haunted!" Sukuna landed on Take's shoulder scaring the bird.

"Aw..." Take was disappointed to have the bird fly away.

"I'd rather train with Tomoe…" Izanagi began thinking about Yu's upcoming battles.

"Oh, so you want to spend time with Tomoe, huh? Want to get in that yellow jumpsuit quickly, huh?" Jiraiya teased his friend nudging his arm to him, Tomoe blushed a little at hearing that...

"I still want to have a party." Jiraiya waved off, he walked in a direction.

"That's fine as long as we get food..." Kintoki added following Jiraiya.

"I-I am not looking for a romantic relationship with Tomoe!" Izanagi shouted at Jiraiya, nervously.

"YOU'RE NOT!?" Konohana, Tomoe, and Himiko shouted at the same time, with Konohana and Himiko appearing happy, while Tomoe appeared sad. Izanagi looked at them very confused by their reactions.

"Look Izanagi, partner... No one cares about your little...love square?" Jiraiya became really confused about what to call it as it's usually a triangle in anime and manga.

"Well, whatever, let's just get some food and head towards the shrine." Jiraiya continued walking off to the North of the Shopping District.

* * *

[Tatsuhime Shrine, Midnight]

The Personas were enjoying some Aiya Chinese Delivery after the rain cleared.

"Man I can't believe that delivery girl can just leave food anywhere...this is pretty good. Thanks for getting Yu to order this for us." Jiraiya was talking between bites of his noodles.

"N-Not a problem!" Izanagi felt guilty about bothering his user this late. He was sitting down near the Shrine's wooden offertory box, enjoying some tea beside Jiraiya with Tomoe and Konohana sitting near by the Japanese God on each side of his body.

"S-So Izanagi...about what you said back there..." Tomoe was trying to get his attention, trying not to look hurt by what he had said earlier.

"Humans are amazing Aren't they!? They can truly make delicious food!" Konohana intentionally interrupted Tomoe, The Japanese God was a little put off by their strange behavior, he was pretty blind to the obvious feelings of his female companions.

"They sure are pathetic..." Sukuna observed from Take's shoulder just a short distance away while enjoying some fried rice.

"I wouldn't say that...they just need to resolve their feelings..." Take was in the middle of making a pink alligator in remembrance of his user's passion.

"Yeah whatever! Like that would happen to me! Ha-ha...Ha...Ha…" Sukuna began laughing awkwardly toward the large Sword God.

"What's so funny?" Take was pretty surprised by his friend's strange behavior.

"NOTHING!" Shouted an oddly nervous Sukuna.

"Has anyone seen Himiko? I don't see her around." Kintoki was looking around the abandoned shrine for their team's enemy scanner.

"You would be the one to know Kintoki-san, with all that stalking you do!" Konohana stood up from her spot near her friends.

"Ah...are you jealous? I guess I should make time for you too." Kintoki playfully flirted with the Goddess.

"Don't make me use Agi!" The fiery Persona angrily warned Kintoki.

"That's not a threat, Kintoki…" Jiraiya is a veteran of making those poor choices so he advised his perverted friend to not do the same.

"I'm over here! I was just having an argument with a Mysterious Fox!" Himiko came up running from the direction of the entrance to the shrine.

"An argument?" Izanagi became perplexed by her words. The Mysterious Fox jumped right in front of the Personas from the top of the shrine...

* * *

Author's Notes: Geez I have been getting some corrections done. R and R!


	4. Chapter 4

The Mysterious Path - Chapter 4

{April 11, 2011} {Cloudy/Rainy} {Midnight}

As Yu got into his futon to get some sleep, he began thinking about his arrival to Inaba…

"This is the day when I became a Persona User...it was sudden…that I began seeing them…" Yu's eyes begin to close…

"...There's something I still don't get...that gas station attendant…" Yu began dreaming...

* * *

[Inside Yu's Imaginary Dream, Midnight]

"Do You also need to use the bathroom?" Asked Dojima about to get out of the car at the Moel Gas station in the shopping district.

"Not Really...but I do need to stretch my legs." Yu in response while getting out from the back seat with the rest of his family.

"Well I do!" Jiraiya was about to make his way to the bathroom…

"Jiraiya...you know we can't do that!" Himiko Shouted to him.

"Don't stomp on my attempts to fit in with human society Himiko!" The Frog Ninja was overly dramatic. Yu couldn't see this… because you know...

"So, we meet again!" The Gas Station Attendant approached Yu with a nice smile.

"Wait...What are you talking about?" Yu backed away slowly from the Strange Attendant in confusion.

"Don't play dumb..." The attendant quickly reached out and violently grabbed Yu's hand pulling him close to his face.

"...And this time get it right!" The Strange Attendant whispered loudly to Yu's ear.

"How..." Yu was dumbstruck. The Attendant released his hand suddenly.

"Anyway...if you need a job just come on by. We are always hiring…" The Attendant says to Yu as he began walking away.

Yu's vision of the dream goes blurry after talking to him...he suddenly awoke on the ground in a kneeling position to an unknown location.

"What the...?" Yu looked around, there was a white fog everywhere around him...

"The fox doesn't want free loaders here because they could make the shrine all dirty!" Himiko told the group.

(After a while...)

"What do you mean we have to pay up to stay in the shrine!? "Shrines are homes for spirits which we are!" The Frog Ninja gestured to himself and others, arguing with the fox as the group watched from behind him. The Fox rolled its eyes at Jiraiya's complaints...

"I'm curious as to how a fox could see us…" Tomoe wondered about this.

"Tomoe, this fox can't actually see us but it can sense where we are…" An insightful Konohana told the wondering yellow-cladded warrior.

"How does he sense us?" Tomoe was still curious about it.

"Seeing floating Chinese delivery could give the fox a hint!" Sukuna landed on Tomoe's shoulders like he did with Yu.

"Wow! Animals are really something!" An amused Himiko spoke out from the group. Kintoki turned frantically to Izanagi, who was still sitting with his tea by the offertory box, appearing to be thinking about something that seemed irrelevant to what was happening.

"You damn fox! Just because you happen to live here doesn't mean you own it!" Jiraiya's complaining continued on. The Fox began to growl at Jiraiya but the Persona was not intimidated.

"Sensei! This is getting pretty bad! You have to make the fox understand why we are here or else the noise will alert the humans!" Kintoki was panicking to Izanagi who was still thinking to himself. Suddenly, the God sat his tea down and stood up from his spot without speaking and made his way to where The Fox and his Partner were, Kintoki watched him as he made his way through the crowd of Personas. Izanagi stood in front of The Frog Ninja, cutting him off in the middle of his complaining.

"Jiraiya, do you know who this fox is?" The Leader of the Persona group asked him as the others watched the scene change its tone.

"What?" A confused Jiraiya to Izanagi, the Japanese God kneeled before the fox as if to show understanding...

"This fox is the same one that has helped our users get through their trials...even if it was for a price, its intentions were pure, to rebuild the shrine from its dilapidated state because this place is the fox's home..." Izanagi told the others. He turned his head back toward the fox and spoke to it.

"I apologize for my group, we mean not to be rude guests at all, we were just staying here for a while and so we'll clean whatever mess we make in your home..." The Fox slowly began to understand the God as well as sensing good vibes from him. It yipped as if to show it accepted the apology. Izanagi then turned toward his Frog Ninja pal.

"Don't you have something to say as well?" The Japanese God pressed Jiraiya to apologized.

"Fine...*sigh* I apologize or whatever…" The Froggy Ninja was annoyed.

"Good enough for you?" Izanagi to the fox, it yipped in agreement.

"Ah, He's so nice…" Himiko in a infatuated tone.

"Izanagi is so mature!" Konohana was fangirling in the crowd.

"He's very understanding..." Tomoe cheerfully added.

"How do you remember the fox?" Jiraiya wondered to his partner.

"The genuine bond Yu and her shared...he would always come to fulfill the wishes people made here because if their desires came true, they would give their fortune to the shrine in exchange for them, and that aided in the fox's quest to rebuild it, she was grateful to him...and his memory of her was strong enough for me to also remember…" Izanagi spoke earnestly to Jiraiya.

"Wait...her?" Jiraiya questioned, making the Japanese God sigh because he seemed to have missed the point. After a while, the personas and the fox began to enjoy each other's company until suddenly, a **terrible feeling** came over Izanagi…he tries to look through Yu's eyes seeing nothing but **fog**...

"Yu…I have to return to him!" The Japanese God was now in panic for his user was in serious danger.

"What the heck are you talking about? Izanagi?" Jiraiya trying to calm his friend as he frantically looked around for someone.

"Tomoe!" Izanagi rushed over to her while in the middle of a conversation with the other feminine personas, he was putting both his hands on her shoulders to get her absolute attention, startling her while making Himiko and Konohana jealous.

"Y-Yes Izanagi?" Tomoe was nervous from his sudden action.

"What is the fastest way to get Yu's residence?" Izanagi urgently, his eyes showed great worry to Tomoe.

"C-Chie-san would always take this certain path..." She turned her face away from Izanagi to hide her blush.

"Please show me the way, the rest of you come along if you like, but I must hurry!" Izanagi exclaimed to the group. They quickly made their way out of the shrine with The Fox looking on in wonder of what was going on...

"This place…I remember now..." Yu ran through a strange path that seemed endless, the ground was made up of red squares pushed together tightly surrounded by a thick white fog forming a tunnel…he ran silently, the only sound made was his own feet echoing with each step.

"You seek the **truth** don't you?" A eerie voice suddenly rang out from somewhere in the fog. Yu couldn't find the source of where it came from, so he continued on with caution.

"This voice..." Yu thought hard about it as he ran down the foggy path.

"If you want the truth...by all means find me…" The eerie voice rang one more time.

"The voice again...it's up ahead!" Yu began to dash furiously through the fog covered path.

"I'll find the truth about all of this, I will end it myself!" He thought with determination.

The grey-haired protagonist finally reached a strange door with a square pattern on it, it seemed to signal the end of the path.

"Here goes…" Yu sighed and opened the strange door with caution. He came upon an open area where there was a mysterious figure standing while draped in the fog. Yu picked up a sword that was on the ground to protect himself.

"So... you're pursuing me now this time?" The figure said in a calm tone.

"Who are you!?" Yu demanded an answer, brandishing his sword. The two faced each other surrounded by nothing but the fog.

"Hmhmhm…try all you like..." The voice challenged him to a fight. Yu rushed at the figure and swung his sword landing a hit against it.

"Heh, it seems that you can still see through the fog after so long, huh?" The eerie voice mocked him. Yu was unsure if he could try attacking again as it seemed to do little harm to it.

"Izanagi…" A struggling Yu said under his breath as he noticed the same white fog was closing in on him...

* * *

[Dojima Residence, After Midnight]

Yu's Persona and the others arrived at the home, they phase through the doors to get to Yu's room. Izanagi goes in first, followed by the others, they find Yu's sleeping form.

"I'm going in…!" The Japanese god frantically neared close to Yu's Futon, until his froggy partner stopped him by putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Wait Izanagi! Just tell me what's got you all like this…" Jiraiya worried for his friend's unusual behavior. The Japanese God stood silent for a moment, making The Frog Ninja and the others worry even more for his state of mind.

"I-I'll explain later…just please let me go…" Izanagi spoke weakly, he looked away from the group's stares. He shrugged Jiraiya's grip on him and engulfed himself in a blue aura, he eventually faded inside Yu's body. The Persona group fell silent as the Leader disappeared from their sight, each with a sad expression, not truly understanding what's going on with their leader.

"I-I trust Izanagi...He wouldn't do anything irrational, I know it..." Tomoe tried to lighten the mood but quickly fell into her own feeling of worry. Jiraiya approached the group seeing the yellow-cladded warrior was trying to keep the calm within the group.

"Tomoe's right...there's probably nothing to worry about…" Jiraiya began helping assure that feeling of content in the group. He nodded to his yellow female friend in agreement.

"I'm highly sure Izanagi can face anything, he's strong!" Konohana declared proudly to them.

"Yeah, I believe in sensei!" Kintoki shouted in agreement.

"I think so too!" Himiko was still in worry but cheered him on as well.

"What do you think?" Sukuna wanted Take's input.

"We must wait and see for that's all we truly can do right now...but remain hopeful for them." Take looked into his hand holding the finished pink alligator…

Yu kept slashing at the figure, but his attacks did nothing, he was only exhausting himself.

"Where did that resolve go huh? Where was the strength you had before? Don't you wish to find the real truth?" The figure taunted Yu as it began side stepping his attacks swiftly, the fog neared...enveloping the area more and more.

"Damn it...I can't keep this up..." Yu became desperate until suddenly, a spark shot through his mind.

"Summon me..." A voice overcame Yu's thoughts.

"Izanagi...you're here..." Yu began to calm down knowing he was not alone anymore. Yu looked into his hand, the Tarot card of his Persona had materialized but was not completely visible to him.

"I'm still weak...but, I will do whatever it takes! ...Izanagi!" He hesitated at first, but smashed the card in hand summoning a very faint image of the Japanese God.

"Blade of Fury!" Yu summoned his Persona to rush the enemy at blinding speed, Izanagi's attack slashes the figure heavily multiple times.

"T-This power…" The figure sounded excited. Yu exhausted himself more quickly for using such attack…the fog almost completely covered the area.

"Ngh..." Yu struggled to keep on his feet, the fog starts seeping into his body.

"Please do not push thy self so hard, my user…" A concerned Izanagi spoke in his mind.

"I'm fine..." Yu was confident but he knew he was losing time...

"Such interesting qualities you have, once more!" The figure demanded as if begging for him to use his power again.

"PERSONA!" Yu shouted, summoning his Persona once more for another attack against the figure in the fog. Izanagi used all his might to cast Ziodyne against the figure, the mighty bolt rained down and broke through the fog to reach its mark, it appeared to do some serious damage to the figure.

"You sure have grown…" The figure spoke as if it was enjoying itself almost, Yu was unsure if the figure was referring to him.

"Now I really hope we meet again...Farewell..." The figure engulfed itself in the bewildering fog and disappeared.

Yu stood alone now...suddenly, he began to lose consciousness from the fog in this strange place.

"I-I'm not finished..." Yu was about to fall, he struggled to keep his balance.

"Rest now, Narukami-dono…it's not the end..." Izanagi trying to comfort him.

"You know, saying my name like that is a little dated right? When did you start calling me that?" An amused Yu with a weak smile.

"J-Just this once…" Izanagi sheepishly, Yu's legs gave out and he collapsed in the dream...his body shot up from the futon, waking up in a cold sweat.

"This dream...I had it before...but I never thought anymore of it...it wasn't just a dream..." Yu looked up to see the Investigation Team Personas staring at him.

"Oh uh, hey guys..." A surprised but tired Yu laid on his bed again, he fell quickly asleep.

"You all right? Where's Izanagi?" The Frog Ninja wondered as well the others.

"I am right here, I'm a little tired though…" The Japanese God emerged above Yu's head and proceeded to rest himself against the side of the desk guarding his sleeping user.

"What happened sensei?" Kintoki wondered to him.

"Like I said, let us speak of this later…" Their Leader seemed to be trying to push the topic off to the side.

"How about tomorrow then?" Jiraiya was pushy, demanding for an answer to what had happened.

"Very well...let us rest for now." Izanagi and the others spent the night in Yu's room.

* * *

Author's Notes: Blade of Fury was a common skill to have on Izanagi in the original Playstation 2 game.


	5. Chapter 5

Case: Mayumi Yamano (Part I) - Chapter 5

{April 12, 2011} {Rain/Cloudy}

"So, you sensed that I was in trouble huh?" Yu to his persona as he fixed himself up for school.

"Yes, it was strange...it felt almost like I was being summoned there…" Izanagi to Yu near the door of his room, the others were waiting outside the home…

"Well, I did call your name when I **needed** you the most..." Yu told the Japanese God, grateful that he was there for him…

Izanagi pondered the thought...

"Do you think that figure in the fog could be something like Ameno and Kunino?" Yu asked a still thinking Izanagi.

"Maybe...it's presence though...it felt **familiar**..." The God admitted to the grey-haired boy, Yu and Izanagi began staring at each other, not knowing how to feel about his statement…

"Well don't worry, wte will find the truth..." Yu assured his Persona, he remained silent for a time..

"So… are you guys heading to the shrine again?" Yu asked him as he got his bag.

"Yes, apparently we weren't finished using it, according to Jiraiya of course." Izanagi in reply to him.

"So what do you thinrk happens if I did something I didn't do in the past cycle?" Yu asked the Japanese God curiously.

"..."

"No answer, huh?" Yu spoke again, feeling a little frightened at the idea…

"I Really have no clue…but let's play it safe and remember each step..." Izanagi wanted to be cautious.

"I agree, see you later..." Yu gave a pleasant smile to the Persona then made his way out the door from his room.

* * *

[Samegawa Floodplain, Early Morning]

After having breakfast with Nanako and some questioning whether or not the house was haunted, Yu and his younger cousin together head for their schools while there was a morning shower...

"Your school is that way…" His young cousin was being helpful, but Yu already knew where it was…

"Thanks..." Yu sees her off holding his umbrella, he turned his body and began on the path to Yasogami High School.

"At least this time, I'll know everything they teach in the curriculum..." Yu thought cheerfully to himself with a bright smile. He began to notice something following him.

"Do you guys have to follow me, what happened to your plans?" Yu gazed back at all the personas following him closely.

"The Fox was peeved that we left a mess of food there…." Jiraiya was annoyed by his own words as he spoke.

"Where else are we supposed to go sensei's user?" Kintoki was honest about it.

"You should be honored to have me follow you!" Konohana angrily shaking her fist at the grey-haired boy.

"Man, I hate school..." Sukuna said tiredly, slumping over with his arms dangling, he then cheered up suddenly.

"Let's skip school! Let's go to the arcade!" A happy Sukuna started flying around joyfully above them.

"Does Inaba even have one?" Jiraiya thought back to his time with Yosuke.

"Why bother? It's a waste of time. Why go to an arcade when you can train!" Tomoe was pumped up for the day.

"Now's not the time to fool around..." Izanagi told the group with a serious tone of voice.

"NOW'S THE TIME TO LEARN!" Izanagi sported an uncharacteristically enthusiastic expression of determination to Yu.

"Yeah..." Yu smiled gently, He began thinking...

"If I remember correctly, Yosuke should be coming in 3...2...1." On cue, Yosuke came rocketing down the street on his bike.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Shouted Yosuke, he then crashed into the telephone pole resulting in hurting his groin.

"Oh, that looked very painful…I hope he's alright..." Take expressed quietly.

"Damn it Yosuke! Even I felt that!" Jiraiya held his crotch in pain...

"A-A little help?" A weakened Jiraiya to Konohana.

"Oh, I'll help you…" Konohana lit his foot on fire with a snap of her fingers.

"Damn it Konohana!" Jiraiya ran around frantically in the background trying to put his foot out. (He could have used garu but didn't...)

"Should I help him?" Yu asked Izanagi with his mind referring to Yosuke...

"You should leave him be..." Izanagi told Yu honestly.

"I-I mean I can't just leave him like that..." Yu began foreseeing events where Yosuke's crotch was at risk…

"Do it...If we change anything it could have drastic consequences." The Japanese God spoke with brutal honesty. Izanagi began pressing him to choose...Yu began sweating, looking frantically between Yosuke and the path to school…

* * *

[Yasogami High School, Early Morning]

Students in classroom 2-2 were talking amongst themselves before class.

"Looks like we get king moron this year what a drag..." One student says.

"But hey, we're going to have a transfer student from the city here!" A female student says excitedly.

"Huh, Is it a guy or girl?" The students continued talking...

"A transfer student from the city...just like you Yosuke huh?" Chie wondered to her friend, Yosuke was motionless in his desk behind her...

"You look dead...what's wrong?" Chie was curious about his state of being...

"Too painful...I don't want to talk about it…." Yosuke was still healing from what happened...smoke was rising from his foot.

"What's with you?" Chie asked Yosuke out of more curiosity.

"Who knows..." Yukiko waved off, her desk was in front of her friend Chie's. The door of the classroom opens.

"Awright! Shut your traps!" shouted Morooka coming near his podium in the front of the classroom, Yu followed him in (and the Personas as well).

"I am Morooka, your homeroom teachher for this year, and now that I'm here...there's not gonna be any fooling around, you all will be as pure as snow on my watch!" The class seems to be dismayed by his comments.

Morooka looks over to Yu and then to the class.

"Now I got to introduce the transfer student, this sad sack's been throw out from the city to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's trash, and he's just as much as a loser here as he was there so you girls better not get any ideas of trying to hit on him...Now tell em your name and make it quick..." Morooka turns to Yu, where the boy is already staring at him with contempt.

"You calling me a loser?" Yu challenged his teacher's assumptions of him as the class (and the Personas) were on edge watching the scene unfold as the new guy battled with the teacher who no one wants to mess with.

"Break his neck, Yu-kun!" Sukuna urged Yu from behind Take's foot.

"Sensei's user might get expelled on the first day!" Kintoki shouted in panic from the group.

"This might be bad…he has no weaknesses..." Himiko comically scanned Morooka as she was worried for Yu too.

Izanagi watched Yu make his first impression in class with a look of concern...

"Hrnh...That's it you're on my shit list!" Morooka had a vein popping out in anger.

"This town isn't like your city that's full of perverts and assholes, so you better not even think of getting involvsed with any of the girls here!" Morooka continued lecturing Yu.

"Excuse me, is it okay if he sits next to me?" A brave Chie spoke up trying to save the new kid from King Moron's wrath.

"Huh? Yeah sure your seat is over there so sit your ass down already!" Morooka barked at Yu as he began making his way toward the empty desk with the familiar green track suit seated next to it. It felt like forever since he had last seen the spunky brown haired Kung-Fu enthusiast that it took almost all of his self restraint not to envelop her in the biggest bear hug he could do and just say how much he cared for and missed her.

"Thanks for the save..." Yu whispered to her as he took his desk.

"No problem!" Chie said flashing that warm smile that would always come to her face after a good days training or whenever he had treated her Aiya's on a rainy day after school. In the background he could hear Morooka begin to ramble on in one of his infamous lectures, He couldn't quite make out what he was saying...something about sexual deviance or something along those lines.

"He's the worst huh? Rotten luck for you to have be stuck in this class with him." Chie whispered her voice conveying as much sympathy as she could muster, Yu chuckled a bit in response.

"Well it's not all bad, I've had a worse homeroom teacher than this guy." He said, remembering the cougar of a woman who would eventually end up replacing Morooka.

"And besides, a good view of the chalkboard and a pretty girl like you to talk too, what's so bad about that." he said giving her a warm smile, which certainly caught her off guard as a slight blush came to her face.

"A-ha-ha...um..I'm Chie by the way." She managed the sputter out with that almost trademark nervous laugh of hers amidst her slight confusion and embarrassment.

Yu couldn't help but continue to smile at her discomfort which only seemed to make her blush deepen. he had to use all if his willpower to ignore the investigation teams personas making off handed comments in the back of the room. He couldn't make out all of it but he could have sworn he heard the yellow jump-suited warrior woman that was Tomoe mutter somthing like "Master and Yu-kun sittin in a tree..."

"I don't what it is but i think this might be a good year don't you?" he added as he turned to pay attention to whatever was being written on the board. Just because she didn't know him yet didn't mean he couldn't flirt with her like they used to. They had learned to be discreet when they had been dating in secret. However now that he had another year with her he was determined to make this one even better than the last. The Japanese God seemed content with his user's actions in the classroom.

"I hope this doesn't interfere with thy schooling..." Izanagi closed his eyes and folded his arms, he laid back at the end of the class along with the others.

"You sound like a caring father..." Take sincerely told him.

"Hmm...I only warn him." Izanagi was flattered though.

"Geez, didn't know that the kid was still such a lady killer since day one..." Jiraiya admitted slightly amused.

"More like manwhore..." Konohana hissed quietly.

* * *

[Classroom 2-2, Afternoon]

"Everyone in this room is a whore!" Morooka started class with his signature sermons.

"Geez, I forgot how bad he was..." Yu sitting at his desk, he began thinking about his teacher's fate in the future.

"Yu! Even if he is a terrible person, there's no need to wish death to come soon on the man!" Izanagi scolded him from afar.

"I-I wasn't, I was just thinking about his death, I actually feel kinda sad about it!" Yu tried to argue with Izanagi in his mind.

"I don't know Izanagi…he's a little..." Jiraiya gestured with his hand.

"I don't want to walk into this classroom and get hit by a shower of fetuses from your unwanted pregnancies!" Morooka pointed to all the girls in the class.

"…Y-You have a point..." Izanagi rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"Awright! Now that's outta the way, normal lessons will begin tomorrow! You're all dismissed!" Morooka began walking out until…

"Attention teachers… please report in for a brief staff meeting...all students must stay in their classrooms until further notice..." The school intercom stated.

"Gah! You guys heard that? Well good….don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise!" Morooka made his way out… some students got up from their desks and began moving around the class, either just to talk with friends or discuss rumors going around.

"That guy is already getting on my nerves!" A female student told her friend.

"You said it!" shouted Kintoki despite knowing the fact that girl couldn't hear him.

"It has begun…" Izanagi says to Yu.

"I know..." Yu began pondering...

*Police Sirens from a distance*

Numerous students rush to the class windows to see what was going on.

"Ah, Damn fog is in the way!" One student as he presses his face against the window to see the commotion, the fog was thick outside though the lights of police cars could be faintly seen zooming by the school.

"I know! Every time it rains; it's gets all foggy." A student next to him.

"I heard that the press is looking all over for that announcer lady, Mayumi Yamano..." Another student tells both.

"Really I heard she was last seen in the shopping district…"

"Oh man, I heard she went..." The students began whispering amongst themselves.

"REALLY?!" One student exclaims. The student runs up to Yukiko's desk.

"H-Hey Amagi-san, I heard that miss Yamano was staying in your family's inn..." The student nervously because he was talking to the beautiful Yukiko.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't talk about those things..." Yukiko looks away from the confrontation.

"Y-Yeah, I guess not..." The student quickly returns to his group by the window.

Chie got up from her seat behind Yukiko and approached her.

"Did you try that **thing** I told you about? You know that thing on **Rainy** nights?" Chie asked her.

"Oh, uh...no not yet...sorry." Yukiko apologized.

"Oh it's fine!" Chie said with some pep in her voice.

"It's just that I heard some guy in the next class say something like: "Oh man, My soulmate is miss Yamano, the announcer!" Chie told Yukiko, mimicking how the student said it.

"Don't you think that it's weird? I mean who in the right mind would think that a grown woman is their soulmate...while they are in high school?" Yukiko as she gestured with her hand.

"Yukiko, it's Japan..." Chie stated bluntly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Should I be offended by how truthful that is?" Yukiko was concerned.

Konohana and Tomoe were watching the scene with their two users, ignoring what they were actually saying...

"Oh, how I missed Yukiko-sama..." Konohana was emotional, wiping her face with her winged arm.

"Don't worry, we'll all be together again!" Tomoe tried to cheer up her friend.

"Right!" Konohana exclaimed joyfully.

"Yeah, we can all be together!" Kintoki appeared behind them, putting his hands on both their shoulders...

"..."

Suddenly…

"Attention all students, there has been an incident so police have been dispatched around the school zone. Stay calm, please contact your parents or guardians and quickly leave the school grounds." The Intercom stated. The class began packing up, wondering what has taken place...

Yu stood from his desk and laid his bag over his shoulder, he began walking out.

"Let's go home..." Izanagi spoke following his user along with the others.

"Hey new guy!" Chie walked up to Yu with Yukiko beside her.

"You going home already by yourself? Well, why don't you hang with us at Junes?" Chie asked Yu in a friendly manner.

Yu began thinking of the offer (really thinking about more flirtatious tactics).

"I wonder what he'll do this time..." A sarcastic Konohana scoffed as the Persona group waited for Yu by the door to the hallway.

"O-Oh that's right! I didn't give you my full name! I'm Chie Satonaka, Y-You know I sit next to you right?" Chie asked Yu curiously.

"Oh, how could I forget...it's my pleasure." Yu gave her a sweet smile, suddenly breaking from his thoughts, he took a knee and Chie's hand in a chivalrous manner causing yet more blush to appear on her face.

"A-Ah, oh this is Yukiko!" Chie quickly took her hand away from the strange boy and urgently moved Yukiko in front of her, she then turned around behind Yukiko and started fanning her face to calm down.

"Oh geez..." Tomoe forgot how awkward Chie was before with these things.

"I-I'm sorry this is so sudden...but it's nice to meet you." Yukiko gave a nice smile and a bow to the new guy.

"Go Yukiko!" Konohana cheered on her user, making it seem like it was some sort of competition.

*sighs* Izanagi was not understanding the behavior of his female companions.

"Pleasure to meet you." Yu stood up and returned a polite bow to her.

"Oh come on Yukiko! Don't apologize! It makes me look bad! I was just curious about..." Chie stopped and looked at him, with Yu returning a perplexed look.

"Say, what is your name?" Chie asked him.

"Yu Narukami, it's a pleasure to meet you as well..." Yu stated to Chie.

"Huh, that sounds pretty cool!" Chie was surprised.

The soon to be love trio began walking out of class until Yosuke walked in front of them with a dvd in his hand...

"Oh, here it comes…" Jiraiya mentally readied himself as he saw that it was Trial of the Dragon in his user's hands.

"Oh h-hey Miss Satanoka! I truly loved this film, the way they moved was so amazing and u-uh here! I'm Sorry!" Yosuke gave the dvd to her quickly and walked away frantically to the back sliding door of the class. Chie took a look at the case and knew something was up.

"Stop right there! What did you do to my dvd!?" Chie chased after him. Suddenly, there was loud crash followed by a girly scream.

"What the!? It's completely cracked! M-My Trial of of the Dragon!" Chie was visibly upset after opening the case with her favorite movie cracked inside. Yukiko and Yu walked up to them to see the damage done.

"I think mines cracked too. Critical hit to the nads..." Yosuke on the ground in pain, holding himself.

"A-Are you okay?" Yukiko looked concerned for him. Konohana controlled herself as Jiraiya was in her face about it...despite the pain he felt also.

"Oh Yukiko-san, a-are you worried about me?" Yosuke grinned but still in pain.

"He's fine, come on Yukiko...Let's ditch him and go home..." Chie was still angry at him, she put the case in her bag.

Chie and Yukiko walked out of the class with Yu following them but not before stopping in front of Yosuke.

"So, was I right?" Yu kneeled before Yosuke.

"Y-Yeah, still hurts though..." Yosuke in reply.

Yu looked towards Jiraiya with him giving Yu a thumbs up to signal he's ok but he was still bending over in pain.

* * *

[Flashback on the path to Yasogami high school!]

"Dude, what the hell!?" Yosuke exclaimed to Yu finding him an odd person for giving him this "thing" outta nowhere.

"Just trust me, you're gonna need it." Yu quickly handed him a protective cup and walked off...

"Thank you so much!" Jiraiya managed to put out his foot to see Yu's actions.

(Present Time)

"How did you know?" Yosuke asked Yu as he was leaving.

"I-I'm psychic!" Yu quickly hurried to catch up with the girls, the personas following him.

"He seems like a nice guy!" Yosuke exclaimed still holding himself.

As Yu (and the personas) were catching up with the girls at the front gate of the school grounds, a strange student came up to Yukiko from a corner.

"H-Hey Yuki, d-do you wanna go somewhere?" The strange student had an odd appearance.

The sudden question got Yukiko by surprise, students began gathering around the scene commenting about the student who was not from their school and something called "The Amagi Challenge."

"S-So are you coming or not?" The student pressured Yukiko as she hesitated.

As Yu caught up, he began remembering the student that asked Yukiko out was none other than future murderer Mitsuo Kubo.

"I can stop him right here..." Yu rushed quickly to Mitsuo, eager to intimidate him to leave her alone.

"Wait!" Izanagi reached out to him as his user turned his head to his sudden warning, the environment around began to lose its color and turned a dull gray. A familiar magical blue door appears suddenly; it opens with Yu unknowingly running inside the white light coming from it.

"What?" Yu found himself up in the Velvet room once again….only this time it was actually a door less room with a table where Igor and Margaret's card game took place, there was also some of Margaret's own personas joining the game as well. Yu walked up to the table.

"Welcome to-" Igor began his speech before getting cut off.

"WHAT!" Yu expressed in shock of the sudden change at both Igor and Margaret.

"Oh dear...It seems you were trying to take fate into your own hands…we can't let you do that or else..." Igor cutting himself to focus as Margaret was gaining the upper hand in the Tarot card game, Yu decided to take a breather and took a seat at the table...

"O-Okay, but just tell me why do I have to go through everything again?" Yu wanted to ask him this most.

"I am giving you the chance to find the **truth** in full or else your future would be lost..." Igor looking into his cards, he spoke in a serious manner to Yu.

Yu began worrying more at the stakes...Igor noticed him.

"And…because you wished for more time with Your friends..." Igor attempted to soothe his guest's worries and gave him a heartwarming smile.

"Really?" Yu brighten up from Igor's comment...Margaret lowers her cards and begins to glare at Igor for stretching the truth and nudges him with her foot to spill it.

"Oh, you never let me have fun Margaret...Look, my mentor came back to visit me to see if you were able to "rise above your nature" but seeing that you didn't...he scolded me into resetting the year for you, he's sort of in conflict with another being about the fate humanity…and the year will not repeat again so there's no third chance, you must find that truth this time…if you don't then **your world** will end up a realm of shadows." Igor told Yu honesty, but felt annoyed at Margaret as he was enjoying screwing with their guest.

"We hope for the best for you though..." Margaret said as she and Igor smiled gently at Yu, whose face was less than optimistic right now.

"I wish I knew what truth you really mean… and whatever that's all about..." Yu admitted, he was perplexed about the mentor Igor had mentioned.

"You will soon…we'll actually tell you later tonight for your troubles..." Margaret tells Yu with a bright smile.

"Still...why do I have to remember all of this?" Yu asked, trying to cope with the new information he received.

"You're a key to all of this...think..." Margaret gestured to her head, making her point clear.

"Farewell!" Igor waved his goodbyes mainly to continue the game uninterrupted.

After a while...

"You're too soft on him Margaret dear, do you ever plan to challenge him like Elizabeth did with our last guest?" Igor commented.

"He's been through a lot… for now I'll wait for him to regain his strength before I can test his **world** …." Margaret in reply to him, she let eyes wander around the table to look at all her Personas, each of them giving a look of confidence or even arrogance due to their immense strength in thanks to her...

"We won't fail you master..." Helel told her.

"I Know...that's why I choose all of you, you guys are my world…" Margaret told them with a smile...a devious one at that...

Yu suddenly finds himself behind Chie and Yukiko with Mitsuo.

"I-I'm not going..." Yukiko was confused by Mitsuo's question.

He began glaring at her until he finds that Yu was staring him down coldly, creeping even someone like him out.

"F-Fine!" Mitsuo ran away from the rejection.

Yu relaxed himself though unsure what could have happened if he had truly intervened.

"Geez, what a mature way to react to a girl turning you down...Fine, whatever! I'll just leave and become a shadow in five months! See you fuckers!" Jiraiya began mocking Mitsuo with the other personas laughing at his impression.

"What did he want from me..." Yukiko actually wondered.

"Come on Yukiko! He was trying to ask you out on a date!" Chie told Yukiko surprised by her density.

"You think so? Well, he did seem nice!" Yukiko exclaimed causing Yu to look at her funny.

"Hey Yukiko! Turned another one down huh? You got me the same way last year."

Yosuke came up with his bike playfully telling her that.

"I don't remember doing that..." Yukiko really couldn't remember.

"S-So you wanna hang out sometime?" Yosuke got his hopes up.

"I'd rather not." Yukiko smashed them like a brand new vase.

"A-Anyway, you guys I'm going home… and don't pick on the new kid, he seems like a nice dude..." Yosuke gave Yu a thumbs up and a smile as he rode his bike away, Yu smiled back at him.

"We are just curious, is all!" Chie shouted at him. As Yu heard that, he began looking at Chie with her returning his look, he smiled gently causing Chie to hide her face in embarrassment.

"Sorry for dragging you around like this..." Yukiko apologized to Yu.

"Oh, it's fine..." Yu admitted in a nice tone, enjoying Chie's awkwardness.

"C-Come on, Let's go...everybody is staring…" A flushed Chie began walking as Yu and Yukiko looked around at all the students gathered there, they started walking along as well...

As the three walked by the Samegawa river under a cloudy sky to Junes, Chie and Yu began talking…

"Ah...so, you came here because of your parent's' job? I thought it was something more serious...though it's still pretty cool to have someone from the city..." Chie seemed to be fulfilled of her curiosity.

"There isn't much here, but hey Yukiko's family runs an Inn that's considered the town's hidden treasure, someday she's gonna run it herself! It's the very pride of Inaba!" Chie gestured to her friend.

"It's just an old Inn..." Yukiko told Yu, she seemed bitter about it...

"But other than that, there's pretty much nothing here..." Chie added to tell Yu.

"Well...I have a feeling that I can find lots of things to keep me very busy here...would you mind showing me around Chie?" Yu flirted with a sly smile.

"Oh, uh s-sure wait...I-I meant...!" Chie was flustered yet again...

"Geez those two need to get a room...just you wait, next week they'll be…" Jiraiya began leaning on Kintoki, making an obscene gesture with his hands.

"O-Oh my..." The inner pervert emerged from Kintoki, he began sweating...apparently, he needed to lie himself down from the thought.

"Then, it'll be just Tomoe and Izanagi left..." Jiraiya added, causing Tomoe to blush in embarrassment as she was next to Izanagi who in turn was perplexed by his statement, he turned to Tomoe and asked what he means...as clueless as ever.

Konohana began fuming, there was fire in her eyes, suddenly lighting herself on fire in anger...

"JIRAIYA!" Konohana began chasing him along the nearby river bank casting agi spells at him but Jiraiya casted sukukaja on himself as he ran to keep dodging her fiery attacks, he fled into a nearby neighborhood.

"That's for my foot! You oversized chicken!" Jiraiya was surprisingly fast at fleeing but Konohana was not slow at all behind him.

"I'LL ROAST YOU TO DEATH! YOU GIANT DISGUSTING TOAD!" Konohana still had fire in her eyes she flew above Jiraiya using her feathered wings.

"Stop it you two! You'll destroy this huge village with your petty squabble!" Izanagi gave chase along with the others (except Kintoki, who was resting himself...) following him as they all faded into the background around the trio of teenagers.

Yu was still smiling at Chie, trying get a clear answer from her…also trying to ignore the antics of the Personas.

"A-Ah! H-Hey don't you think Yukiko's kind of cute!? S-She's never had a boyfriend!" Chie tried distracting Yu with her friend, as she was becoming uncertain of her own feelings...why was this boy hitting on her this much?

"S-Stop it, that's not true! Wait, I-I mean...!" Yukiko began blushing, both of them were looking at Yu all embarrassed.

"I think you're both cute...especially Chie..." Yu admitted with a wink. (The main target was still Chie)

"WHAT!" Both Chie and Yukiko felt the area getting hotter…with Yukiko not understanding why...

After a while of silence and awkwardness...

"O-Okay, s-sure yeah...I-I'll show you around…" Chie was facing slightly down, pretending to be nonchalant about it...though she began smiling gently at the idea...Yu noticed this...

Chie looked away for a bit from all of this and sees something peculiar.

"What's that over there?" Chie wondered.

"Hmm..." Yu turned to where she was facing, he knew what...

Author's notes: Lot of this was something original, so it wasn't in the first fanfic...though it does take certain elements such as Yu's flirting with Chie, along with her growing attraction to him (which is mostly thinking he's hot right now, though it will naturally be progressing into romance later on...) and Konohana's mistreatment of Jiraiya. Another note, was Jiraiya's attraction to Konohana isn't present here like in the first story. To me, pairing the last of the first four friends when you have a ship between two just seems forced, Yukiko's kind of ditz (though she has her moments of sanity), and Yosuke just finds her attractive and That's that.


	6. Chapter 6

Case: Mayumi Yamano (Part II) - Chapter 6

{April 12, 2011} {Rain/Cloudy}

The three teenagers walked up to see what Chie was talking about, there was a crowd of people occupying a corner of the street alongside the river. The crowd was mostly concentrated right outside a building with a large antenna.

"I heard that a high school girl came down the street and found it early in the morning…" A gossiping woman from the crowd telling her friend, the teenagers were overhearing.

"To find something like that hanging from an antenna...my god..." Her friend in reply quietly.

"The fire department and the police took it down just right now..." The woman informed her...

"I'd be terrified to find a dead body like that!" The woman commented.

"Did she just say a dead body?!" Chie overheard the woman in shock of the news.

"Oh My..." Yukiko was also in sudden shock, she covered her mouth with her hand.

"..."

Yu kept quiet, the two girls looked up to notice that he was not stunned in the least by the news of a dead body suddenly showing up in their relatively quiet town, His face told a different story.

"D-Don't leave me behind!" Kintoki ran up to them with his feelings hurt, he went behind Yu's leg like his master did before.

"Sorry about that..." Yu was sincere in his mind but couldn't express it more right now.

"Wh-What's going on sensei's user?" Kintoki didn't see this before, he was scared for not knowing what was going on...

"I'll talk about it later, okay?" Yu told Kintoki with his mind trying to comfort him.

Detective Dojima was walking around the crime scene near the building with the antenna and spotted his nephew and the girls among the people around. He came up to them with his blazer over his shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Dojima questioned Yu in a serious manner.

"We were just passing by…" Yu in reply to his uncle.

"I figured that...damn principal, told him not to allow students here…" Dojima grimaced to himself.

"Do you know this guy?" Chie turned and asked Yu curiously.

"Yeah…" Yu gazed down at Chie, without a smile on his face. She noticed the instant they came, Yu had completely dropped his flirtatious attitude, he was serious now, his change of behavior made her feel something was really off about the whole situation.

"I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian...well, uh...how should I say this...I hope you kids get along with him…" Dojima itched his head as he spoke to the kids.

"You three should stop wandering around and head home…" Dojima had warned them, He turned his back and began making his way to the crime scene again. Suddenly, a young man ran across between them to the other side of the street and began vomiting from presumably seeing the body's state.

"Damn it Adachi! Stop acting like a rookie and clean yourself up, we have to go around and ask for witnesses!" Dojima didn't like his partner's cowardice.

"Sorry Dojima-san…" Adachi apologized coming back to the scene and followed Dojima behind the yellow police tape, as he was making his way back, he spotted the trio of teenagers, Adachi's eyes had caught Yu's as he walked, it seemed that time slowed as the two found themselves in an intense stare...they focused heavily on each other, Adachi broke the stare, and quickly followed Dojima to the crime scene.

"I wonder…" Yu looked on at the young detective's back as he disappeared from his view.

"W-Well...why don't we go to Junes some other time?" Chie trying to change the mood of the grim scene.

"Yeah, Okay…" Yukiko nods in agreement quickly, feeling a little shakened by the situation. Chie turned to Yu who appeared to be thinking about something…

"Me and Yukiko are taking off...let's do our best tomorrow neighbor!" Chie gave him a nice smile, they walked forward and began making their way home…

Yu began worrying about the possibility that he may not be the only human to remember the world resetting itself…as the two girls walked off, he felt seriously concerned for their safety.

"Please stay safe, you two." Yu told them in a somewhat quiet tone, Chie had managed to hear him and turned to see Yu walking away himself(with Kintoki) in the opposite direction. She had just become a bit more curious about him…

[Dojima residence, Evening]

Yu had arrived home, he noticed that Nanako was sitting by the table watching Tv, the Personas had arrived with him as well, but were not allowed to come in due to Nanako's recent fear of ghosts. The two cousins got dinner started and ate together on the table in the living room without Dojima as he was busy with work…

"I wonder if dad's not coming home again…" Nanako almost sadly to her cousin. Yu noticed her gloominess…

The local news suddenly comes on...Yu watches along Nanako already knowing what had happened this day.

The news announcer talked about the incident in the afternoon and revealed that a body of a young woman was found near Samegawa River, the body was Identified as 27-year-old Mayumi Yamano of the local news station here in Inaba. The Inaba Police was looking into the case…

"The Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako seemed to be worrying for her dad, Yu had asked her if she was worried for her father before knowing that he'll actually be okay in the past cycle…

"It'll be alright...Nanako." Yu told her, calming her a bit about the situation, she turned to him.

"I Know...it's his job...so it happens...but thanks for worrying for me…" Nanako felt a little better, she had a small smile...

The two continued watching the news, it reported that the body was found hanging from an antenna of a building nearby, The Police were unsure if this was a homicide or an accident but Yu did….this fact slowly eats him as he cannot tell anyone…the fog this morning had hampered police efforts to know as much as him.

"They found her on the roof? That's scary..." Nanako turned away a bit frightened until…a Junes commercial suddenly appeared on the Tv.

"Oh it's Junes!" Nanako turned excitedly to the TV to see the ad, Yu was surprised a bit by her mood whiplash. She can really cope quickly at times. Nanako began singing along to the jingle.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako happily sang, she cued to Yu for him to sing along with her as well…

"Your Junes!" Yu playfully humored her this time instead of saying she's a good singer. He enjoyed her company very much, her innocence ease his mind a bit from the troubles.

The two together began singing lively and loudly the Junes jingle over and over again for a time(The Personas outside were able to hear them and simply adored it...) until Nanako grew sleepy, Yu had helped Nanako forget her troubles and the scary story on the news. she sends herself to bed. Yu goes to bed as well but decides to stay awake for Izanagi to come back…he needed to chat with him before meeting Igor and Margaret later...

[Outside the Dojima's residence, Midnight]

"So what I saw with Sensei's user was the murder that started it all..." Kintoki was gloomy about it.

"Yes, unfortunately we weren't all there by his side..." Izanagi felt a little peeved at the antics of Jiraiya and Konohana...mostly Jiraiya.

"I apologize partner…" Jiraiya told Izanagi, really feeling sorry.

"Me too..I feel so bad." Konohana added, she looked toward Jiraiya with a glare with him returning one of his own. The two had received a severe scolding from Izanagi and surprisingly Take, he can be quite scary at times despite his gentle giant nature.

"I didn't mean to shout at you two...but please don't act foolishly again..." Take told them in a very calm tone, he felt bad for scolding his companions.

"It's quite alright, Take-kun!" Sukuna trying to comfort him.

"It's almost time, huh?" Tomoe felt sad as their time as Personas was ending very soon…

"It's not like this is forever! Cheer up Tomoe-chan!" Himiko laid her firm hands slowly on Tomoe's shoulders and suddenly started violently shaking her from her gloominess.

"T-T-Thaank y-y-yoou H-H-Hiimiko-San!" Tomoe was startled but grateful for the support anyway. Himiko let her go...

"Yes…" Izanagi pondered the thought, trying to find something to say as if this was final... They were about to say their goodbyes to the leader.

Sukuna reluctantly floated to him as he was starting to fade out, his arms dangling with head down, though he perked up as he got closer…

"Well, for now see you later Leader!" Sukuna embraced his neck in a tight hug as Izanagi hid his eyes from him, he felt sad to see the kid leave...

"Goodbye Sukuna-san…" Izanagi in reply.

"SEE YOU EVERY BODY!" Sukuna with a cheerful expression, he gave two peace signs to everyone, with all of them returning their goodbyes.

"See you, Take-kun…" He said quietly with a gentle smile to him...he faded completely.

Take was silent for a while...

...

A sad Kintoki quickly approached Izanagi…as he too was fading out...

"I-I'M GOING TO REALLY MISS SENSEI AND EVERYONE!" Kintoki cried out as he dropped his missile to hold his leader's leg tightly with an adoring Izanagi laying a gentle hand on him…

"I'll miss you very much as well, my dear friend..." Izanagi with a soft expression, he closed his eyes and comforted him. Everyone left at the scene adored the two playfully...

Kintoki faded out...

...

Himiko began her approach to Izanagi…she scanned him playfully as she reached closer to him.

"It seems you have all sorts of statuses right now, including fear...are you afraid you're going start missing me later, Izanagi-senpai?" Himiko flirted with him one last time...for now at least...

"I'm really going to miss you..." A genuine but amused Izanagi. The other feminine Personas began to look comically gloomy after hearing that...

"Geez..." Jiraiya says as he observes both Konohana and Tomoe's reactions.

"Miss me already, huh? Well...how about a date later, when I come back?" Himiko just came out with it…Izanagi began humoring her.

"You mean those special gatherings between two people, you know...what human society today calls them?" Izanagi questioned Himiko.

"Of course!" Himiko said happily in reply.

"Well, I don't see why not…" Izanagi had just made her really happy. The other feminine personas were just trembling now, Jiraiya was just surprised that Izanagi kind of said yes…

"Bye-bye! Everyone!" Himiko waved off...she faded out...

...

Take-Mikazuchi approached Izanagi...it's time…

"Here…my farewell gift to Narukami-san and to you…" Take handed him the small pink alligator. Izanagi took a look at it...he admitted it was really cute in his mind.

"I hope he likes it...I tried my best." Take was nervous about it, he had yet to fully master his user's craft.

"How are you feeling?" Izanagi asked Take, looking up at the giant, still holding the gift in hand.

"To be honest... a little frightened…" Take admitted to Izanagi.

"A gentle demeanor... but yet also powerful force... what could you possibly fear?" Izanagi was curious.

"Going back to being in conflict with you and the others... I hate the thought of it... fighting your friends." Take came out, he hates conflict in general.

"I promise you that this will be the last time… will you lend us your strength?" Izanagi understood his hatred but needed him on the team.

"Maybe, I will to tell you one thing though, I feel more like a protector than a warrior when I am with all of you..." Take told him.

"Then please, protect us once more, will you not? " Izanagi sounded pleading, amusing Take.

"Hmm... I'll miss everyone…" Take was flattered, he looked around to see everyone's faces.

He gave a small wave with his giant hand...

He faded out…

...

"Izanagi! I-I want to tell you something before I go!" Konohana ran to Izanagi as if he was the one going away, suddenly... Jiraiya decided to trip her as a last "take that" for all the Agi spells he took, she landed flat on her face with Jiraiya laughing at her...

"YOU PIECE OF-" Konohana was about to curse him out while she was still on the ground until... she turned around and noticed Izanagi had his hand out to her….

"Forgive him, he's a child..." Izanagi with a gentle look to Konohana, he then teasingly looked at Jiraiya as he scoffs in return, he helped Konohana up from the ground.

"Well, you're right about that…" Konohana blushed at his gesture...

"What did you need to tell me, Konohana?" Izanagi questioned the blushing maiden.

"W-Will you be my prince? ...I-I mean like be there to save me one more time?" Konohana waited anxiously for a reply…even if it's not what she truly wanted to say, Jiraiya snickered at her for wussing out.

"I'll be there... I promise you…" Izanagi bowed to her. Konohana turned toward Tomoe victoriously, Tomoe didn't understand so she was nonplussed.

"Good bye and take care, I'll miss everyone...even you Jiraiya-kun..." Konohana said her farewell gently...intentionally trying to make him guilty.

She faded out…

"I'm going to miss her..." Jiraiya felt bad...almost.

"You guys were like an old married couple…" Izanagi teased him.

"Whatever..." Jiraiya brushed it off, they were just vitriolic friends at best.

A moment of silence…

...

Tomoe approached Izanagi… she stood right in front of him... She started fidgeting as he just stood there…not saying anything, she was getting really nervous... Izanagi was actually waiting for her to say something...

"..."

Tomoe became very gloomy, she wanted to speak...but her feelings of the unknown weighed her down...Izanagi noticed only her awkward silence, so he began first.

"I'm going to miss you very much, Tomoe..." Izanagi took her hand causing her to look up at him with uncertainty.

"I-Izanagi...I-I would like to-" A nervous Tomoe began before being cut off by Jiraiya.

"Just hug him already! Gosh!" Jiraiya was getting annoyed by the romantic tension between his friends.

"Huh? Jiraiya, what are you-?" A perplexed Izanagi exclaimed to Jiraiya... suddenly Tomoe took the chance to pull him quickly into a tight embrace, her arms were around him and she rested her head gently on his chest... Izanagi was surprised by her sudden action, he looked down at her and started to sense something more to the hug, he felt it was a warm feeling from her. Izanagi decided to return the embrace, yet was not sure how to feel about it.

After a while, the two broke the hug…

"I-I'm sorry for doing that suddenly, s-so do you have anything else to say before I go?" Tomoe looked apologetic, her face looking down.

"You're a strong warrior, Tomoe ...truly a woman worth a thousand men." Izanagi told her honestly remembering their time training.

"Izanagi…" Tomoe perked up and stared at him, she had a longing expression on her face, Izanagi was still unsure of how to feel towards her. Jiraiya watched them quietly... he ships it.

"Farewell, you two...until we meet again…" Tomoe put on a cheerful expression for both of them...she left the two alone…

…

Jiraiya approached Izanagi…

"So before we say our goodbyes partner, just please tell me what happened to you in the other night…" Jiraiya really wanted to know.

"I really don't understand myself, it was like my emotions were out of my control. I couldn't think straight...all I thought about was getting back to Yu…" Izanagi told Jiraiya, he turned away from him.

"Hmm, I never seen you in panic like that before, the others and I were really worried about you…" Jiraiya admitted to him.

"I know, I'm sorry for making you all worry…" Izanagi apologized.

"It's all good, partner!" Jiraiya wrapped his arm around Izanagi's neck, trying to ease his buddy. They began looking out to the town together.

"Boy, you ready to go through all this again?" Jiraiya asked him.

"Not really, but me and my user have to in order to find the real truth…" Izanagi was a little down about it.

"At least Yosuke-san won't remember, otherwise it would be a pain..." Izanagi added joking with his pal before he goes.

"Hey, he's really a nice, awesome, cool guy..." Jiraiya defended his user, the two got along very well…

"Anyways, see you around…" Jiraiya lets go of him and waved goodbye, he faded away, leaving Izanagi alone…

"*Sighs*" Izanagi spent sometime outside before returning to Yu.

[Yu's room, Midnight]

Yu waited with the lights on...Izanagi phased inside the room from the window.

"How do you feel?" Yu asked him, noticing his sad expression.

"The same as thou…but we'll see them again..." Izanagi appeared sad to see his comrades leave.

"Did they leave? I thought they were all staying here for a while longer..." Yu was confused a bit.

"That was just Jiraiya trying to mess with thou..." Izanagi was still beat, although he laughed on the inside at remembering his user's face when they were all in his room.

"Hey we'll get through this...again." Yu had just made himself sad. At the very least he still had money to last, although only to cover "expenses" for the future team.

"What do you have there?" Yu perked up and looked at the gift in Izanagi's hand.

"Here, Take-Mikazuchi wanted to give us this…" Izanagi handed the pink alligator to Yu.

"It's pretty cute." Yu examined it.

"Yeah, I know…" Izanagi rubbed the back of his head thinking the same.

Yu then placed it carefully on top of his television set, remembering all of Kanji's Classes that took place in his room.

The two spent together talking about various things...until it was time.

"I will fade away like the others but I will be Inside thy mind, I will lay dormant until thy ability to awaken me..." Izanagi informed him.

"Farewell, Izanagi…" Yu smiled at him, he felt really alone right now.

"I'll be with thou in spirit..." Izanagi sensed his user's loneliness.

"Thanks…" Yu gave a gentle smile to him...he faded out.

"Time for bed…" Yu readied the futon in his room and fell asleep.

Yu awakes inside the Velvet Room, it had turn back into the endless limo ride he was always familiar with.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…" Igor greeted him, Margaret was by his side as usual.

Igor looked like he was trying to keep his grin compared to Margaret's more genuine smile, it seems that she won their card game.

"Hello you two, So tell me about this mentor of yours…What's he like?" Yu asked Igor from his seat.

"Philemon, the original Proprietor of this Room…He created this realm of the conscious and unconscious to aid your predecessors when the bet he made with another entity about the fate of humanity was broken when this same entity directly interfered with humans…" Igor's face was somehow nostalgic after saying all that.

"Wait, are you saying there are more Persona users than me and my team?" Yu began thinking he was part of some long line of the chosen ones.

"Of course, Although things have changed since conflicts in the world have become isolated in specific areas…" Margaret added.

"So, how did you come to own it?" Yu asked Igor another question.

"Philemon created me as a servant to him for this room, I still ponder why he choose me to own this place after he left, maybe it was my own personal interest in humans." Igor answered him, it was something he still thought on about.

"Where is he now?" Yu asked him for more information.

"He's still here, watching us and you." Igor told him.

"As a blue butterfly..." Margaret added in detail with her hand puppet, she was being sillier than usual for some strange reason.

"Really…" Yu could have sworn seeing it around him at times, it amazed him to think he wasn't alone at all, Philemon is watching over him and even gave him the chance to save this world again.

"So about the wild card…what makes it so special?" Yu asked out of the blue about his ability to use multiple Personas, this talk was making him curious.

"Nothing really…long ago, all users could use multiple personas, Philemon originally granted them this ability, now he has me make a contract specifically for the Fool arcana of only one person at a time..." Igor was pretty blunt about it.

"But what makes it different is that it's powered by the bonds of people have between its owner, it can turn it into strength but it's not perfect…" Margaret added.

"Yeah, I know that…" Yu remembered fusion accidents due to the wild card and how Igor would sometimes screw up on his own as well, that would really frustrate him at times.

"Time for bed, we will continue our services as long as you need them, this contract is for life, we have your compendium but it's in storage because we thought we were done…" Margaret hands were empty, she seemed to be a little down...

"Sorry guys…" Yu felt bad for screwing up this whole journey.

"It's no trouble, drop by when you need us or just to talk that's fine…" Igor seemed bored cooped up in this place.

"I will..." Yu returned to his bed sleeping until morning.

Author's notes: First I would like to give a big hand to user Amouren for adding in detail to the scene where Yu gets into class in the fifth chapter, I did make Yu sound abit like a creepo to Chie now that I think about, as a fellow church of Chie member, I am grateful to his/her review and messages. (READ AGAIN, IT WAS REALLY ENHANCED by him.

Side notes:

-To the person asking for a Yosuke/Yukiko ship, I would like to talk to you on how it can work in the plot because I want to make this a fun story to read, but my feelings still are that I don't want to be a fanfic where everyone has to pair up...

-Izanagi will never address Yu with his name directly, only using thou, but I let him use "you" once as a nod to the game telling you to leave Yosuke.

-Tomoe's unrequited feelings toward Izanagi reflect her user's doubts about Yu as she was not sure if he felt truly the same towards her(but he did) when they were secretly going out in the past cycle.

-Izanagi's uncertain feelings toward Tomoe stem from Yu not knowing how his girlfriend truly felt because she never had the courage to talk about it with him.


	7. Chapter 7

The Midnight Channel Rumors/Case: Saki Konishi-Part I - Chapter 7

{April 13, 2011} {Cloudy}

[On the path to school, Early Morning]

Yu with school bag under his arm was walking along side other fellow students on the street of a neighborhood. He was feeling really alone in the world, to the point he was actually beginning to miss the company of the Investigation Team Personas, even if they did act like a bunch of children…

"Well, it's not like this forever…then again, Izanagi is technically still with me even if he is asleep..." Yu began searching his mind trying to bug his sleeping persona simply out of boredom, he did not notice Yosuke rushing right past him on his bike until he crashed right into a large trash can on the side of the road.

"A-A little help please..." Yosuke sounded distressed as he appeared to be unable to remove the trash can from himself and began rolling around in it, Yu aided him again, this time for real.

"Here…" Yu walked up to the poor student and effortlessly removed the can from his body, setting him free. Yosuke then stood up from the ground, picked up his bike and started to show Yu his gratitude.

"Thanks! You saved me again transfer dude, I don't think I could ever repay you for what you did for me back in class...I'm Yosuke Hanamura." The two shook hands.

"I'm Yu Narukami, you okay?" Yu looked at Yosuke's form to see if he was harmed in anyway.

"Hehe, I'm good thanks to You..." A grateful Yosuke was in debt to him, he gave a nice smile to Yu.

The two decided to walk to school together, they began talking.

"Did you hear about that incident yesterday?" Yosuke asked him as they walked on the neighborhood path.

"You mean about the announcer lady…" Yu already knew what he meant.

"Yeah, I heard they found her body hanging upside down from an antenna, that's some pretty messed up stuff, you know?" Yosuke in reply to Yu.

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Yu pondered on, feeling uneasy knowing someone Yosuke holds dear will end up the same later on, and he couldn't tell his best friend about it anyway. The guilt was still slowly eating at him to know all of this, suddenly Yosuke broke him from his thoughts...

"Oh crap! We're Late! Here, you want a lift? It's a little squeaky, but we should be okay..." Yosuke then proceeded to mount his bike and scooted up his banana seat awkwardly to give Yu some space before he even took up on his offer.

"I-I don't know about this…" Yu was really getting nervous as Yosuke didn't have a good track record for staying on his bike for long periods of time, plus "girls" were watching…Yu turned over his shoulder to see a group of school girls quietly giggling at the two thinking it was that "kind of relationship" from the other side of the road, but as he didn't take up Yosuke's offer in the past cycle, he was really late because of it...

"Alright, it's all set! Let's go!" Yosuke seemed to not notice all the students that stopped by to stare at them, Yu reluctantly had got on the back of the bike and held Yosuke's waist tightly, he prayed for their well-being as well as hiding his face from embarrassment using Yosuke's back, apparently doing this didn't help in the slightest as the same group of girls began laughing out loud…Yosuke began riding his bike merrily and surprising well through the neighborhood to Yasogami, maybe it was due to his savior being on with him, they made it to school safely.

* * *

[Classroom 2-2, After School]

Yu was at his desk, skimming through notes only for the stuff that will eventually be on the first exam in May as Yosuke got up from his desk behind Yu to stretch his arms, he walked up to him for a chat.

"So, you getting use to Inaba?" Yosuke asked as Yu looked up at him from his desk.

"I know it now like the back of my hand…" Yu said confidently, he really did with all that running around he did for a lot of requests for a bunch of townspeople and info hunting for the team in the past or future...I don't know.

"Whoa, That's pretty fast..." Yosuke was slightly astonished by the new guy's ability to adapt quickly.

"Yeah…" Yu rubbed the back of his head playfully with a smile.

"Well, there's not much here compared to the big city, though the air's cleaner, the food is great. Oh, did you hear about the town specialty, It's grilled steak! I know somewhere we could get some cheap, you want to come? It's on me…" Yosuke offered the new guy still in gratitude to him, Yu did develop a taste for it back then while dating Chie but still not as much as her.

"Sure, why not." Yu in reply.

"Great!" Yosuke seemed relaxed until a certain girl wearing a green jacket suddenly showed up behind him and Yu, startling both of them a bit.

"What about me, Huh?! M-My Trail of the Dragon?" Chie was still upset and angry about her now broken favorite movie as she pulled the case out from her sweater to show Yosuke what he had done, Yosuke began sweating nervously, his eyes were frantic, they wandered down to Yu, hoping his new pal could save him again. An also nervous Yu returned his look with a little shake of his head and expression that could come across as "N-No way man…" Yu really didn't want to make Chie more upset than she already is, as Yosuke realized he was on his own…he gave up, wait no…he decided to fight back passively.

"Geez, you always come around when I start talking about food…" Yosuke expressed himself, exasperated by his female friend.

"How about it Yukiko, don't you think Yosuke should treat us too?" Chie giving a smile to her friend who was near them, Yosuke jumped up a little at the possibility of Yukiko coming along.

"I can't, I'm helping out at the inn today..." Yukiko was packing her stuff up, as she finished, she stood up from her desk.

"Ooh, are you training to take over the family business?" Yosuke was surprised by Yukiko's diligence.

"I-It's not like that, I just help out when it's gets busy…" Yukiko began making her way out of the classroom. Yu looked on as she walked away, he started remembering their time together, she felt her life was being railroaded by her family's inn, Yu began emphasizing with that, looking at his current situation but began remembering her resolve to stay with her family and staff as she cared for them dearly, he felt the same towards all those whom he had bonds, even if his stay was only temporary…he returned his gaze to his other friends.

"Oh well, anyways we should get going…" Chie perked up with a cheerful smile as Yosuke flinched a little bit.

"D-Do I really have to pay for two People?" Yosuke checked his wallet to see if he had enough for all of them until Yu decided to speak up.

"Don't worry man, I got you covered if you're short, and besides having someone really cute like Chie here with us isn't bad at all..." Yu told Yosuke casually and gestured to her as she immediately paused herself from smiling after hearing that, she quickly became flustered and turned her face away from Yu in embarrassment, her eyes began wandering back to him, seeing that he had a bright smile on his face. Yosuke noticed that Chie was glowing red in the cheeks and fidgeting...

"Why are you getting all nervous around him? Hmm, Chie?" Yosuke gave her a teasing look as Yu watched the results unfold from his flirty behavior towards Chie, even when they were dating she was always a bit awkward around him, but he found it really adorkable.

"L-Let's go already…" Chie spoke while blushing, remembering she had agreed yesterday to show Yu around for a bit later on.

"It wasn't like he was trying to ask for a date or anything, I'm just showing him around right? No, it couldn't be...could it? n-no…" Chie thought frantically as she followed the two out of class.

* * *

[Junes Department Store, After School]

Yu and Chie were sitting at a table as Yosuke came back with drinks and setting them on the table.

"This was the cheap place you talked about? There's no grilled steak here!" Chie was irritated at Yosuke's stinginess. Yu fell silent, he was thinking about something as they argued.

"Well, once you came and jumped on the freeloader train, I had to change plans..." Yosuke retorted at her.

"Still no reason to take us to your place!" Chie argued with him from her seat.

"Dude, it isn't my place or anything, my dad just runs it…" Yosuke fired back, he looked to Yu who was still thinking about something.

"Hey, what you thinking about, Yu?" Yosuke was curious, he had broken his friend's thoughts.

"Nothing really, so did this place just open up? Everything's pretty nice…" Yu moved his thoughts aside and returned to the conversation.

"Yeah it just opened up, my family all came here because my dad was assigned to manage it." Yosuke tells him as he takes a drink from the table.

"Anyway, Welcome to Inaba!" Yosuke gave him a warm smile, as Chie grabbed her drink paid by Yosuke, Yu also reached for his drink.

"Thanks…" Yu in reply to him. The two gave a toast to welcome the city boy to the countryside.

"It's been six months since this opened up, I haven't been at the local shopping district much...a lot of stores started closing there and…oh um…" Chie realized she made it awkward as Yosuke was right there.

"You can't blame it on Junes, can you?" Yosuke started pondering about it.

"I'm sure it's fine, Yosuke…" Yu tried to cheer up his friend seeing his uneasiness, suddenly a young teenage girl sat in a chair a distance away from them.

"Oh, excuse me for a bit…" Yosuke dismissed himself from the table to go talk with his "friend", Yu looked on a bit sad about knowing that this was the last time Yosuke would talk to the girl he was sweet on, and feeling guilty about it. Chie noticed his face, seeing it was uneasy for some reason.

"You okay?" Chie was a little concerned for him, she saw the same look on his face yesterday by the river.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Yu replied, shaking himself from his thoughts so Chie wouldn't worry.

"That's Saki Konishi, her family has a liquor store in the shopping district…" Chie told him pointing to the girl Yosuke was talking to... she seemed beat.

"Hmm…" Yu began pondering to himself as Yosuke and Saki came to the table.

"You're that transfer student, right? It must be nice to have someone else from a city to talk to…" Saki tells Yu as she gestured to Yosuke.

"Oh, you're from the city?" Yu asked Yosuke trying to sound surprised, thankfully his high expression saved him a bit.

"Yeah, Yosuke doesn't seem to hang out with the other guys so I hope you two get along…" Saki says with a smile, embarrassing Yosuke a bit.

"That-That's not true…" Yosuke looked flustered by her comment, he hid his eyes.

"But you gotta tell him when he starts to annoy you, he can get kinda nosey…" Saki admits to Yu playfully, embarrassing Yosuke even further.

"Nah, I think he's a nice guy." Yu gives a warm smile to Yosuke, his friend touched his chest in awe because he backed him up despite that awkward bike ride to school.

"Oh, I know I was just kidding…so anyways my break is over, See ya Yosuke." Saki makes her leave by ruffling her boss's son's hair affectionately, she then walks off to work again. Yosuke returns to his seat at the table.

"Whatever, Saki says I'm annoying but she is even nosier than me, she has a little brother and she treats me the same way…" Yosuke seemed down by the fact.

"Oh so you don't want her treating you like a little brother, huh?" Chie began teasing Yosuke about his crush on Saki. Yu watched them quietly, enjoying it a bit.

"IT'S REALLY NOT LIKE THAT!" Yosuke tried to stop blushing from all her teasing.

"Oh, really? I know what will cure that love sick heart of yours...ever heard of The Midnight Channel?" Chie got back at him completely for the teasing earlier, she began explaining.

"So on a rainy day with the lights off, you take a look into a TV that's turned off exactly at midnight and if you do…you'll see someone on the screen and they say that's your soulmate!" Chie seemed excited about it.

"That's it? I thought it was something useful…besides why are you getting excited over a childish rumor?" Yosuke seemed to not believe it at all.

"C-Childish! You don't believe it do you!?" Chie seemed irritated at Yosuke shutting her fun down.

"No, I don't..." Yosuke was pretty blunt.

"Well, it's raining tonight so let's all try it out!" Chie gestured to both of them, wanting to prove Yosuke wrong.

"You haven't even tried it…have you..." Yosuke accused her making her slightly more angry.

"Anyways about that incident yesterday, do you guys think it was murder? What if the culprit was still around there…hee hee." Yosuke seemed trying to test fate.

"Now who's being childish, you shouldn't joke about that…" Chie telling him not to make fun of it.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't do that…" Yu agreed with her, but couldn't blame Yosuke because he didn't know any better. Yu's tone went a little gloomy, both Yosuke and Chie noticed his mood change.

"Anyways, all I'm saying is to try out the rumor tonight…" Chie added, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, okay. Oh and...have fun with your date!" Yosuke says playfully as he casually walks off from the table without looking back at them, knowing that Chie was gonna show Yu around Inaba for a while, his last comment served as payback against her teasing. She wondered how that info got out to him...it was Yu, duh.

"H-Hey!" The flustered girl called out to Yosuke as her face went completely red, she then turned to Yu all flushed, Chie was really nervous to be alone with him.

"Forget about that Chie, just get home safely okay?" Yu told her sincerely with a gentle smile as he got up from the table, he didn't want to discomfort her...

"Y-Yeah, okay…" Chie seemed a little sad, Yu noticed this and took action.

"Besides, I hear there's a special at a restaurant on a rainy day later in April by the shopping district, do you want to come with me then? Oh and Yosuke too…" Yu added with fire in his eyes…he was ready to meet the challenge to its end!

"Sure, why not!" Chie brighten up a bit cheerfully, she watched him gather his things a bit and began remembering Yu was strangely feeling down earlier and yesterday too. She was concerned and wanted to ask him about it but…ultimately decided not to.

"I-I hope you feel better by the way…" Chie says quietly facing down a bit as Yu had managed to hear that, he looked back at her a little surprised to see that she noted his behavior lately.

"Thanks Chie…" Yu gave her a gentle smile, she looked up at him with slight blush on her face and gave a small smile back.

The two left Junes…idling talking about various things until they made their own way home…

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

Yu was eating dinner again with Nanako alone by the table in the living room watching Tv…again.

"…"

Nanako seemed down about not having her father home again. Yu knew Nanako wanted her father home more, not just because of the bond they had before in the past cycle but he too had busy parents…though it didn't bother him as much as her.

"I'm sure he'll be right back Nanako…" Yu said confidently trying to cheer up his little cousin.

"…yeah." Nanako didn't seem to buy it, though Yu understood.

The sound of the door to the front slides open as Nanako brightens up abit standing from the table.

"Oh! He's Home!" Nanako was delighted as Yu smiled at her being cheerful. Dojima came up to the table…tired from work.

"Hey…did anything happen when I was out?" Dojima spoke, Yu saw the exhaustion in his eyes.

"No…You're late again." Nanako pouted a little to her father for being to occupied with his work to take care of her.

"I'm sorry, I've been busy with work…can you turn on the news for me?" Dojima replied as he sat himself by the couch behind the table. Nanako switched the channel from what they were watching to the news. It was a follow up report of the incident yesterday about the body of Mayumi Yamano being found hanging on an antenna from a local's house, the news states that the shopping district was worried about losing customers as Dojima expressed his grievances and pointed out the media's hypocrisy by making a "stink about it."

The news channel got an interview with the teenage girl who found the body, despite the blurred face and deep pitched voice change the interviewee had, Yu knew already who it was and sighed to himself watching helplessly by knowing this has to happen. The people interviewed Saki Konishi about the body, it seemed it was the reason she was looking tired at Junes. Suddenly, the same Junes commercial came on with Nanako singing cheerfully to it.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako singing as she turned to her father.

"Dad can we go to Junes sometime?!" Nanako was excited until she found him sleeping on the couch snoring loudly…

"Geez…" Nanako was miffed by him.

After they cleaned up the table and called it a day, they left Dojima on the couch…

* * *

[Yu's room, Almost Midnight...]

Yu was sitting in the dark on the "love seat" in his room as he heard the rain pouring heavily outside… he stood up and went up to front of the TV…it seemingly turned on by itself with static showing glimpses of his "soulmate," Saki Konishi. Yu tried not beat himself about it as he turned his back and went to bed.

"I'm mean I know what's going to happen, I guess I could just say I did it..." Yu went to his bed until suddenly...

"Kept thou waiting, huh?" Izanagi spoke in his mind.

"Izanagi?" Yu was surprised to hear his persona again, he spoke out loud.

"Yes, thou do not remember when I first spoke?" Izanagi was curious.

"Yeah, I remember that…you shouted in my ear…" Yu looked back and only recalled that his ear was bleeding due to the piercing noise Izanagi spoke with, he was glad that Izanagi was with him again though.

"I apologize, now go stick thy hand into the TV…" Izanagi seemed commanding, Yu was perplexed.

"Why?" Yu asked him out loud, not knowing that he woke Nanako.

"I told thou this last time for some reason, and I wanted to play it safe…" Izanagi explained a bit embarrassed as Yu usually gave him orders.

"Ok…then I'll do-" Yu says as he gets cut off by his persona.

"THOU ART THEE, THOU STICK THY HAND IN THE TV! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" Izanagi shouted into his ear, making it bleed again accompanied by that same piercing noise.

Yu quickly rushed and stuck his arm into the TV, opening the "door" to the unknown realm inside. The astral projection of Izanagi appeared from Yu's back and shoved his head into the screen using his arm.

"Thou forgot about this part…" Izanagi was just making sure, he let him go.

"Geez..." Yu expressed his annoyance toward Izanagi as the persona apologized profusely.

"I will be with thy thoughts from this day forth…" Izanagi told him.

"Really?" Yu seemed slightly delighted to have his company again, as Nanako spoke by his closed door.

"Are you okay?! Did y-you find any ghosts?!" Nanako seemed scared thinking Yu was talking to phantoms...

"I'm fine, and I told you there's nothing to worry about…" A calm Yu told her sincerely.

"Okay…good night." Nanako sounded still uneasy.

"I would blame Jiraiya for that…" Izanagi didn't want any blame.

"Let's just go to sleep…" Yu was tired, he went to bed.

* * *

{April 14, 2011} {Rainy}

[Classroom 2-2, After School]

Yu was at his desk organizing his things while chatting with Izanagi in his mind as those rumor-loving girls talked about Saki near him, she was the student who found the body after all. Yosuke came up to Yu, appearing a little uneasy.

"H-Hey um, I saw something on TV and uh…" Yosuke struggled to get his words out as Chie came up to them.

"Hey did you guys hear the rumor that Saki found the body?" Chie was curious.

"Y-Yeah, I wonder that's why she was so down yesterday, she's not at school today either…" Yosuke in reply. Yu kept his quiet with Izanagi. Yukiko who was near them got up from the desk as the three noticed she was leaving…

"Hey Yukiko, helping out at the inn again?" Chie asked her.

"Yes, things have been getting out of hand…sorry." Yukiko made her leave as the three looked on at her.

"Does she seemed stressed to you?" Yosuke asked Chie concerned for her.

"I Guess they are running her ragged…" Chie expressed her sympathy for Yukiko. She then asked them if they did the thing.

"Oh, did you guys see it last night?" Chie was curious about them.

"Huh? D-Did you see something?" Yosuke wondered to her.

"Yeah, I saw a girl…but my soulmate's a girl? What's that's supposed to mean?" Chie apparently didn't know about different sexual orientations, Yu chuckled with Izanagi by the thought of it.

"She was wearing our uniform and she had shoulder length brown hair…" Chie described the girl she saw.

"Wait, did I see the same girl too?" Yosuke was astonished by her description.

"D-Does this mean we have the same soulmate..." Chie seemed uncomfortable by it, especially if it was with Yosuke.

"H-How should I know?" Yosuke seemed off put by the idea. He turned to Yu.

"Did you see it too?" Yosuke asked Yu curiously.

"Yeah…also I heard weird voices, and got my arm and head stuck inside the TV…it was like a portal to another world there…but my TV was too small to let me fit in completely." Yu was pretty calm about it, knowing they wouldn't buy it at all anyways.

"Were you that tired? You've must have fallen asleep in front of your TV…" Yosuke chuckled abit at the thought with his hand to his chin amused.

"That would be one interesting dream though…I like the part where you got stuck cause your TV was too small…" Chie teased Yu playfully, he still didn't like that the girl he loves was teasing him…

"It seems they don't believe you…" Izanagi added.

"Yeah…I get that…" Yu miffed to him in his mind.

"Oh that reminds me…my family's trying to buy a bigger TV." Chie told Yosuke, reminded by the talk of TVs.

"Junes is beefing up their electronic section…and flat screens are in these days, do you want to come check em out?" Yosuke was selling out for Junes…in Yu's opinion anyways.

"Oh definitely! My parents don't know electronics, and I've got to see my Kung-Fu movies on the big screen! HWA-TAAAA!" Chie added with a funny Bruce Lee noise complete with pose as Yosuke found her awkward while Yu founded it really adorkable, he turned to him.

"Do want you to come too? We got some pretty big ones in stock, they would probably be big enough for you to fit into...hehe." Yosuke and Chie began giggling at Yu's expense.

"Sure, let's go right now!" Yu excitedly as he got up with school bag in hand from his desk and walked outside the classroom, leaving Yosuke and Chie unnerved as he seemed comically serious about it.

"I-Is he serious?" Chie was blushing like a tomato watching Yu walk outside, he was waiting for them.

"N-No, come on! He's full of it…" Yosuke watched him as well, he was unsure though. The three made their way to Junes...

* * *

Author Notes: Boy, this took a while because I wanted to add detail to Yu's thoughts, and anyways that whole sequence with him and Chie was cut short from what I planned cause I didn't want to make it longer than it has to be...but I'll visit that topic of discussion in the future. If you are a Yukiko/Yosuke shipper and you know who you are...give me a scene where they can be alone to talk, because I have this idea in my head and I want to do it properly.

This maybe a long story...if you want to see any social links other than family and the party, suggest one...I would love to hear it.

Side Notes for future chapters:

-Yu will have dream sequences to get close to the others faster, he will get dreams as he starts social linking.

-A Catherine parody will be involved with said dream sequences.

-Every shadow boss will be comedic(in a way), "other" bosses will be down right serious...maybe, I don't know.

Random Note: I listen to "Sun" from persona 3 portable while writing this...also tell me if theres any errors in the writing, tell me cause I like to update.


	8. Chapter 8

The Midnight Channel, Also Teddie! - Chapter 8

{April 14, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Junes department store, After School]

The trio of teenagers arrived at Junes and began making their way to the electronic section of this huge department store. As they walked alongside the others, Yu and his Persona began thinking of "the old days."

"Hmm, this place almost makes me feel nostalgic…remembering all the good and even bad times here…" Yu reminisced fondly in his mind to the persona Izanagi.

"Quite an experience it was, but apparently not enough of it…" Izanagi sighed, the realization of having to really go through all this hardship again was starting to take its toll on the two.

"Stay optimistic Izanagi, we will find the truth this time, we just need to be patient until that crucial moment where we screwed up happens…" Yu stayed determined for his Persona, though he felt the same...it's his persona duh. Izanagi stayed quiet for a time as they walked until…

"Should be careful when thou see Teddie-san again…" Izanagi sounded cautious as he told his user; Yu who was perplexed by this seemingly random warning.

"Wh-What for...Izanagi?" Yu asked the Persona in his head, frighten at the chance of screwing up possibly all of time or something serious.

"I'm just having a feeling that thou might call him Teddie out of habit…" Izanagi admitted to his user bluntly. Before Yu could respond about him being ridiculous, the three friends stopped right in front of a large flat screen in the TV display gallery of the electronics section.

"Wow, this is huge! And holy crap it's expensive! Yosuke, who buys this?!" Chie exclaimed looking at the very high price tag of the flat screen with an astonished expression on her face.

"Not a lot honestly, not many people shop here for TVs, so we don't have any clerks around …" Yosuke told Chie not realizing how convenient that info is/was for them in this future or past…whatever.

"Not worth buying I guess, but at least looking is free…r-right?" Chie was looking at all the other really expensive TVs around the particular large flat screen.

After a bit of looking around with their eyes, Yosuke and Chie nodded to each other and proceeded to the front of the same large flat screen they were looking at before and began tapping and feeling the TV screen as another attempt to tease Yu for the seemingly ridiculous claim he made, despite what happened in the classroom, they were really trying to call his bluff.

"Can't get in, figures…" Yosuke turned to Yu with an almost mocking expression, Yu was really nonplussed by it.

"Haha, this proves it! It really was just all a dream..." Chie says with a confident bright smile, Yu was then dishearten by his future girl not believing him despite the fact that he already knew she wouldn't, he hid his eyes. The astral projection of Izanagi appeared behind Yu, confused by his sudden change of mood.

"What happened to "stay optimistic!?" Izanagi was trying to shake his user from his current state of mind. Yu was actually waiting for the right moment to shove the teasing right back into his friends faces…

"Hush…" Yu said quietly with a devious grin on his face, his eyes colder than a snake about to strike, Izanagi began worrying more for his user's state of mind.

"Besides these flat screens are so thin, that you'd just end up on the side…argh, what am I saying!?" Yosuke realized he said something silly and became embarrassed, Yu chuckled to himself because of it.

"O-Okay so Chie, what kind of TV are you guys looking for?" Yosuke asked Chie, averting his face from Yu's amused expression to him.

"They said something cheap, any suggestions?" Chie responded with another question. They began looking around for cheap TVs.

Yosuke and Chie walked to the other side of the TV display gallery, leaving Yu alone by himself with the large flat screen. The Junes boy prepared his store clerk shtick.

"Well miss, we have this lovely screen, it's our newest model just released this spring…" Yosuke was really into this bit.

"Th-That's not cheap at all! Look at all these zeros!" Chie was astonished by the model's price, holding its tag in hand.

"I guess I've should have asked you what you mean about "cheap" right off the bat…" Yosuke was exasperated; he had put on a show for nothing.

"You have connections right? Come on hook me up..." Chie was trying to exploit her friend's status as the manager's son.

"You know I can't do that Chie…" Yosuke didn't want to get in trouble with his dad.

"Well then…how about this one, it's an old display but-" Yosuke was telling Chie right as he spots Yu leaning toward the TV with his arm going through the screen easily, even causing it to have vibrations like it was only water. Needless to say, he was really shocked by this.

"Huh, is something wrong, Yosuke?" Chie noticed that Yosuke's face had grown pale from staring into the direction where Yu was, she turned around to see what's up.

"I-Is his…arm in the TV?" Yosuke pointed to Yu, his hand was shaking from seeing the strange happening.

"Whoa…" Chie was pretty shocked as her jaw immediately dropped from seeing what Yosuke was seeing.

"Uuh… is that some kinda… new model? L-Like with a new function?" Chie was shaking at the fact that Yu was right about this and they mocked him for it.

"Hell no!" Yosuke exclaimed in response as the two ran quickly to their friend to see closer at the bizarre sight taking place.

"Y-You gotta be kidding, did really stick your hand into the TV?" Chie asked him still astonished by the sight, she looked closely at his arm, it was really inside the TV.

"Yeah!" Yu told her causally with a smile.

"Th-This has to be some kind of magic trick! Wh-What's your secret, man?" Yosuke was trying find a rational reason for all that's happening right now.

"A magician never reveals his secrets…" Yu playfully tells Yosuke with a wink while his arm still inside the TV. Note: Yu is very fond of magic tricks.

"Stick thy head in to make them freak out more…" Izanagi told Yu, laughing at his user's friends and eager to see them freak out a bit more now because it was really amusing to watch. Yu removed his arm from inside the screen and stuck his head in to get a rise from them.

"H-Hey, Don't do that! What if someone sees?!" Yosuke was being loud, that wasn't helping at all as people in the store around them heard and slowly began their approach to the commotion…

"Oh my god…" Chie began freaking out, holding her mouth with her hands as she watched Yu's quite "handsome" face and head disappear into the TV screen.

"There's a big empty space inside here…" Yu tells the two what he sees inside, with his head still in the TV.

"Wh-What do you mean inside!?" Yosuke asked what he meant by that.

"What do you mean empty space!?" Chie was very confused as well.

"H-Holy crap… I-I think this is all too much for my bladder…" Yosuke began holding himself because he got too worked up from all the excitement. Chie then turned to him quickly because of his little dance.

"What The-? Are you going to pee your pants!?" Chie began worrying frantically that Yosuke might accidentally relieve himself at the moment.

"I've been holding it all day! I-I Haven't had the chance to go…" Yosuke began bouncing in place, lifting each foot off the ground in quick succession in attempt to hold it all in…

"Aaargh, I can't…hold it…anymore!" Yosuke quickly ran along the side of the TV gallery to find a close bathroom…only to come back after four seconds.

"Shit, shit…customers! Th-They're coming!" A weakening Yosuke still holding himself to Chie.

"What!? We got Yu-kun half stuck in the TV here! Wh-What are we going to do!" Chie responded shaking in fear. The two friends began running frantically in circles behind Yu in a panic of not knowing what to do...

"Thou ready for this?" Izanagi asked Yu in his mind.

"Yeah, I just hope the first fall won't hurt my neck like before…" Yu telling the persona with his head still in the TV, he called out to his panicking friends.

"Come on you two… there's no use staying here…" Yu calmly as he manages to take both his friends hands quickly as they ran around despite not being able to see them, he dived in to the TV completely taking the two before customers arrived to their position.

"W-Wait, Yu-kun!" Chie reacted to Yu suddenly taking her hand as she disappeared into the screen along with him.

"What the!? W-Wai-WHOA!" Yosuke's hand was also taken by his friend, falling along with the others.

As the three disappeared into the TV, they were falling into a deep black and white rectangular pattern worm hole thing that swirled around them, it reminded them of a TV screen, until they were going to hit the ground any second now.

* * *

[One cartoony falling sound later…]

Yu fell right on his back hard to the ground and bounced backward from the impact.

"Oof…A-Ah, I landed on my back this time…that's smarts..." A pained Yu stayed on the ground for a bit to recover until the others landed with him.

"O-Ow!" Yosuke came down right on his own ass and bounced to the side…that looked really painful, it sounded like he broke something.

"Aaah!" Chie somehow managed to land right on her butt as well, rolling backwards from the landing.

The three sat themselves up, they landed pretty close to each other.

"Ow, I-I think landed on my wallet…" Yosuke checked his lower back and got up from the ground.

"Man, where the heck are we?" Chie still sitting, she looked out to her surroundings to see nothing but a yellow smog oblivion in the distance, they were on some sort of black and white landing zone target with white filled-in outlines of human bodies in various positions on the ground. Yu after getting off the ground, he walked over to help Chie up as well.

"What is this place? Somewhere inside Junes?" Chie wondered, staring out to nowhere beside Yu and Yosuke.

"Hell no, it isn't…I mean we fell through a TV…a-actually what the heck is going on here?" Yosuke looked around the strange place, he then turned to Yu with him facing Yosuke as well.

"Beats me…" Yu was trying to play along, thankfully they bought it, Izanagi cheerfully gave him props with a thumps up in his mind.

"Haa…so we're all still alive…r-right?" Chie was a little frighten of the unknown.

"You guys okay?" Yu wondered for his friends since he landed differently this round.

"I think my butts cracked now..." A pained Yosuke responding his friend.

"Of course it is…" Chie was just surprised that they lived through a seemingly high fall…

"Whoa!" Yosuke looked up slightly, seemingly at the nothing. Chie began panicking in reaction to him doing that.

"Wh-What now, did You wet your pants!?" Chie backed away from Yosuke a bit in disgust.

"No stupid! Look around!" Yosuke telling Chie, gesturing all over around them.

They all began looking out as the smog somehow dissipated quickly for them to see more of the area, it looked like they were in some strange alien world. They were in a square hall that looked a lot like a TV studio set with a bunch of flood lights hanged up and placed down with steel walkways going out into different directions from the sides of this "set."

"Is this…. a TV studio? All this fog or smoke… there isn't any place like this in Inaba, is there?" Chie wondered in curiosity to them.

"No, but man is this place is huge!" Yosuke looked in awe around them, it seemed big.

"What're we gonna do?!" Chie looked toward Yu asking him.

"Let's get home…" Yu told her calmly, so she won't panic, that didn't last for long though.

"R-Right…" Chie turned around frantically and began looking for a way out.

"H-Huh, wait a minute…which way did we come from? I don't see a way in… or out!" Chie sounded like she was going to cry at the realization. Yosuke looked to her in shock as Yu stayed oddly calm about the whole thing.

"That can't be right… H-How could that be?!" Yosuke began panicking at the possibility.

"I-I don't know! Don't ask me! I can't take this anymore! I want to go home!" Chie began to panic, almost sobbing into her hands, face slightly down.

"Okay...so how?!" Yosuke began to break down in frustration as well, until Yu stepped in.

"Thou should put them at ease with thy words…" Izanagi told his user from the mind.

"Right…" Yu in response to him.

"Let's all calm down now…" Yu told them in nice tone, trying to ease their minds so they could think.

"Y-You're right... Okay…Okay..." Yosuke began to chill himself from getting worked up. Yu walked over to Chie still hiding her face in fear of being stuck here.

"Chie, come on look at me, it's going to be fine…I'll make sure we all get home safely..." Yu was confident (which he should be as he knows more than them…), he planted his hands gently on Chie's shoulders to ease her. Chie looked up at him from her hands to see his eyes with a trusting gaze.

"Okay, I-I believe you…" Chie began slowly regaining her composure and sighed with Yu letting her go, Izanagi went quiet for them to talk this out.

"Alright, so let's look for a way out…" Yosuke tells the group.

"Is there really a way?" Chie was not very sure about that.

"We got in, so there must be a way out…" Yosuke tries to assure the girl.

"That's true but…" Chie was still worried about being trapped.

"Let's cross our fingers, and look around." Yosuke tells Chie, but then he turns to Yu, seeing him walk off into a particular direction by himself.

"I'll check here!" Yu was trying to lead them into "that place" like before in the past cycle.

"W-Wait for me!" Yosuke was planning on looking as a group, he ran to Yu.

"Don't leave me behind!" Chie quickly followed them.

The three (and Izanagi) came to a foggy path that looked like the outer side of an apartment hall that had a long balcony view, its hallway doors were on the side of it, probably leading to "other rooms." The group seemed like they were several stories high in this place, in the distance outward from the building's balcony, there were silhouettes of what looked like a small town and a large lamppost sticking out high, the lamppost was pretty close to their positon. "The sky" of this place looked like black and red waves flowing across just like the strange door ways off from them at the end of the hall in this place. But, this door had a strange like-vortex entrance pouring inside from a center of it. They had come from a steel walkway leading up to this place from the studio backlot, it was really a bizarre structure this place had indeed.

"This place is so different from where we were…are you sure we're not wandering away?" Chie was following right behind them, bracing herself in case something scary came out.

"We have to keep to our instincts, but man this fog in here, I can't really see anything…" Yosuke looks ahead to see Yu's faint figure in front him walking.

"Come you guys…" Yu told them as he headed to the black and red vortex door, the two followed him into the middle of a mysterious apartment room, it was Mayumi Yamano's place to Yu's knowledge.

"The fogs lighter here…" Yosuke observed the room, he took out his phone, there was no service.

"What a surprise…" Yosuke stated in a dull manner. Chie came up to them running.

"Hey guys, can you slow down a little? It's hard enough to see with all this-" Chie cut herself off and started looking around with the others following her action, the room had its walls filled with cut up posters without the face of a woman that appeared to be wearing a kimono, it was the same picture plastered all over the room.

"It's a dead end!" Chie was trying to ignore the creepy atmosphere.

"it's just gets creepier and creepier the more we go…" Yosuke then suddenly jumped and ran to a wall of the apartment.

"Yosuke what are doing?!" Chie looked on at him in surprise.

"I can't hold it any longer, my bladder is going to explode!" Yosuke unzipped his pants to the wall and tried to go.

"You can't do that here! Yu-kun, you got to stop him!" Chie turned to Yu urgently, with him giving a perplexed look back as this didn't happen before to him.

"Why would I do that?" Yu asked her what she meant by that, she was dumbfounded.

"I-I can't go if everyone looks… it's you guys fault if my bladder explodes…" Yosuke warns them, zipping up his pants, he returns to them in the middle of the room.

"Like I care…" Chie really didn't. She began looking around to see the cut up pictures.

"Somebody must really hate this person…" Chie thought out loud, looking at all those posters. Yosuke walked up to a spooky chair with a noose made up of a scarf right near the corner of the room.

"Dude…this arrangement is never good…" Yosuke observed the dark sight.

"Spooky…" Izanagi stated in Yu's mind, even if he had seen this before…

"C'mon let's go and look for a different way out somewhere else…" Chie was getting scared, she moved closer to the door. The two followed her out, but not before Yosuke stopped to see a poster near the door frame.

"Hey I think I've seen this poster before somewhere…" Yosuke looking at the poster with the woman, trying to recall where he's seen it.

"WHO CARES! Let's go, I'm sick of this place…and I-I don't feel good…" Chie began feeling weak, maybe it was from the heavy atmosphere of the fog in here... (it was…you knew that already but yeah.)

"Now that you mention it me too…" Yosuke began to feel sick. Yu was also feeling light on his feet, nonetheless he tried to lighten Chie's mood, he faced her by the door.

"Want me to carry you…" Yu was genuinely worried for her despite knowing they will be alright.

"Th-That's fine…I think I can make it…" Chie hid her eyes from him facing down, blushing in embarrassment.

"Geez you two, come on let's get going to back to where we landed." Yosuke was already heading back, they began following him alongside each other, Yosuke was slightly amused by the two behind him.

"Thou sure are getting closer with Chie-san…" Izanagi told in Yu's mind.

"Are you noticing us…?" Yu smiled amused by his persona's observation of them.

"N-No, I-I'm just saying is all." Izanagi sheepishly

"Say…" Yu sounded like he was going to ask him about Chie's persona…he removed the thought quickly from his mind.

"…"

"Nothing…never mind." Yu brushes it off making Izanagi curious about what he was going to say...

"Ah, we finally made it back…" Chie sounded relieved a little, they had come back to the entrance hall with the strange landing zone target. Chie looked out to see a roundish figure approaching them with its stubby legs from the foggy area around them.

"Wh-What's That?" Chie braced herself, the other two looked on as well to see the figure come into full view for them, it looked like short fat man-child in red and blue character costume, the head was zipped to its body just like it. The creature resembled a bear dressed up like a clown. Yu was all fuzzy inside seeing the bear again despite it being only a couple days, it seemed like a long time.

"What is this thing, is it monkey?" Chie wondered looking at the weird figure.

"What in the world?" Yosuke wondered about it as well. The mysterious bear spoke to them. (it's fucking Teddie, gosh.)

"Th-That's what I want to know! Who are you guys?" The bear spoke in a stern yet timid voice.

"It talked! Uuh… what are you, huh?! Y-You Wanna fight?!" Chie responded readying in a fighting pose but she was shaking in fear of the bear.

"Please, D-Don't yell at me like that…" The bear cowered in fear of Chie who was also cowering from him slightly.

"It looks like someone in a costume…" Yosuke wondered who was inside of it. Yu's turn to speak.

"What is this place? Ted-" Yu stopped immediately and mentally kicked himself as Izanagi was right about his warning to him. The others wondered what else he was going to say curiously, the bear wondered about him too, it sensed friendly vibes from him.

"This place is what it is…it doesn't have a name... but it's where I live." The bear politely told him.

"You live here?" Yosuke questioned the mysterious bear aka Teddie.

"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side..." The timid bear warned the group of teens.

"Someone's been throwing people in…it's really annoying to me, I just want to live in peace..." The bear said tiredly.

"Throwing people in? What're are you talking about?" Yosuke began questioning the bear.

"I don't know who's doing it! I just want them to consider other's feeling before doing something like that!" The bear responded quickly to Yosuke.

"What is your problem?! What gives you the right to yell at us like That?!" Chie shouted at the bear for being kinda aggressive.

"What ARE you?! Where are we?! What's going on here!?" Chie added gesturing to this place.

The bear quickly ran around the group and went behind Yu in fear of Yosuke and Chie being mean to him. Yu got a hint of nostalgia from Teddie's action from long ago.

"I already told You guys…please leave before the fog lifts..." Teddie said quietly from Yu's leg. Yu decided to take it into his hands before his friends get worked up.

"Can you get us out …uh, Mr. Bear?" Yu was calmly telling Teddie under him. Izanagi observed his user's action.

"I can!" Teddie responded cheerfully to the nice guy.

"Wait…what?" Yosuke was dumbfounded by the bear's claim. The bear tapped his foot on the ground twice, a stack of three old style 70s TVs appeared before them.

"What the Hell?!" Yosuke was shocked by the bear's strange ability, it seemed like magic.

"Where did these TVs come from!?" Chie was amazed at the sudden emergence of TVs as well.

The group moved in front of the stack of TVs, with the bear moving back behind them.

"Okay now, go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!" The Bear began pushing them in as a whole with surprisingly great strength.

"H-Hey, what are you doing? What's going on!? Whoa!" Chie disappeared and fell into the TV on top of the stack.

"S-Stop pushing! H-Hey!" Yosuke disappeared and fell into the TV in the middle.

"Thanks Teddie!" Yu tells the bear casually before jumping in himself into the lowest TV.

"W-Wait, h-how do you know my name?!" Teddie was in panic asking the young man but he disappeared.

"Thou don't really care anymore, huh?" Izanagi was exasperated by the utter carelessness of his user.

"S-Sorry, it slipped!" Yu told him honestly as he fell into the void. The group of teens were falling into the same black and white rectangular worm hole.

* * *

Author's Note: Geez, this chapter takes away from the kick ass action after it...anyways sorry for the two hours' late upload. I'm counting on Amouren and others to point out any errors or things that can be improved on in the writing. next chapter will take 3-4 days...But it will be longer than this because we need to get going from the three fucking hours of no gameplay.

Side notes:

-To the Yosuke/Yukiko shipping person, I finally approve of this idea but it will honestly take time...I just don't want Yosuke feeling like he's the rebound for Yukiko when she gets rejected (which she will...sorry it's mean, but it's the truth.) By the way, I won't tell you when it happens just as a surprise, it will be wonderful.


	9. Chapter 9

Case: Saki Konishi (Part II) – Chapter 9

{April 14, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Junes department store, After School]

The three teens emerged and crashed onto the store floor in Junes out of the flat screen they had fallen into… (thankfully, no one saw them) They rose from the ground and looked around, they were all back in the normal world.

"Ugh… wait… did we really make it back?! That bear actually did it…" Yosuke was amazed to see that he was alive despite fearing of being trapped in that strange TV World only moments ago.

"Huh, is this really Junes?!" Chie was very relieved, needless to say.

"That was close…" Yu stated to the two, both of his friends responded and expressed the same.

{A store announcement suddenly comes indicating that Junes was about to be closing for the evening…}

"Crap, it's that late!" Yosuke was astonished by the large passage of time, Yu really didn't notice since he was very familiar with this stuff, he checked his phone.

"It's 5:40…" Yu tells them as they pondered on.

"Man, we were in there for quite a while, huh?" Chie looks toward the TV in wonder of what they all saw in there…

"Hey… that lady…" Yosuke passed between the two and looked at the poster closely by one of the many TV displays.

"Hey, you're right… I couldn't tell without the face, but now I know that's Misuzu Hiiragi... she's been on the news a lot lately." Chie looked over to the poster and began speculating about what that could mean…

"I remember it was something about her husband having an affair with the lady reporter from Inaba who died recently…" Chie tells Yosuke.

"So, that weird room we saw in there… could be related to Mayumi Yamano's death…?" Yosuke began recalling the room they had seen in the strange world.

"Now that I think about it, there was the chair and the creepy noose hanging from the ceiling… Argh! No more! Let's stop talking about this… I'm gonna wipe today from my mind. I really don't think my heart could take anymore…" Yosuke began freaking out, wanting to forget those dark implications pouring into his own mind.

"I-I'm feeling a chill too… so let's go home… I wanna rest." Chie seemed really exhausted from today as well.

"Yeah, Chie's right… let's get going…" Yu told the two and they began making their way out together from Junes.

"Thou are going to need rest…for tomorrow." Izanagi spoke in His user's mind as he and his friends were walking out the store, the clouds had separated in the sky and the bright orange sun was out and setting as they made their way into a nearby neighborhood path back home.

"Yeah, got to get back before-" Yu sneezes loudly, startling his two friends, they begin feeling their own foreheads, paranoid that they may become sick due to their exposure to that world.

"H-Hey, You alright?" Yosuke spoke to him, the Junes boy really didn't want to get sick from that place, so decided to take some medicine right as he got home.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…" Yu tells him as Chie's stomach grumbles randomly. The two boys then stared curiously at her… She did miss dinnertime by the way.

"Ugh, I-I need meat…" Chie spoke weakly as she held her stomach, she became embarrassed by how loud her stomach was.

"Geez Chie, don't you always carry that "meat gum" of yours?" Yosuke looks at her frankly tired until his own stomach grumbles as well…

"Ah, d-do you think you could share that…" Yosuke hunched a little due to stomach pain.

Yosuke was asking her in desperation as he spoke, Chie was already opening a pack she forgot she had on her person and began chewing like a carnivorous animal paying him no mind as she chewed.

"Do you mind if I have some…" Yu asked her gently, he was honestly feeling hungry as well. He had a pretty small lunch at school. Yu looked at her for a response, she looked right back at him slightly embarrassed, she instantly stopped her loud chewing and instead nibbled on it quietly hiding her eyes from him…

"I-I guess so, here you two." Chie handed two gum sticks to them fairly quickly as they walked.

"Thanks, but really how can you have something like this…" Yosuke gladly took his stick and began chewing in hypocrisy.

"…" Yu chewed silently, remembering fulfilling that request by the young lady who couldn't stop craving snacks in order for the fox to stop swindling his yens, he gave some of this stuff to that same lady courtesy of Chie herself...the lady soon stopped craving due to how weird it really was.

"What a strange invention…" Izanagi was perplexed by Chie's tastes.

"Thanks a lot, Chie." Yu was grateful despite the gum's weird taste, he actually never had this before due to only needing it for something else.

"No problem, Yu-kun…" Chie gave him a nice smile, Yosuke had already begun taking mental notes of the recent interactions between his friends.

"It seems you already have a soft spot for the new transfer student... am I right, Chie?" An amused Yosuke teased the two, making Chie fluster a bit with Yu rubbing the back of his head accompanied by an awkward laugh.

The trio began making their own way home…

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

Yu finally arrived home after spending the first day in the TV world, He felt a little more sluggish than before.

"Thou feeling alright?" Izanagi was trying comfort his user as Yu slid the front door closed behind him and headed to the living room table where his family gathered around for a ramen dinner.

"A little tired, but I know it'll be fine..." Yu appreciated his Persona's concern as he made his way towards Nanako and Dojima.

"Hey Welcome, Home." Dojima speaks in a mild manner to his nephew as he sat down with him at the table, Nanako was watching the TV in the corner of the room from across Yu's spot, Dojima sat by the front of the couch.

Yu was very tired but he needed to hear what his uncle was going to say…Dojima pondered for a bit, then he turned to him.

"Well, I doubt you know… but have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?" Dojima asked Yu as he goes to the same school she was from.

"She discovered the body, right?" Yu went straight for a direct answer this time because he didn't feel the need to avoid the subject anymore.

"Yeah, that's true…" Dojima pondered a little more about it.

"To be honest, we got a call from her family, She's disappeared…we've got people looking but she hasn't been found yet…" Dojima noticed that Yu wasn't shaken by news but decided to ignore it.

"*sigh* Work keeps piling up…" Dojima seemed exhausted by this additional case following the recent one.

[Suddenly the TV turned to the news, another follow up on the Mayumi Yamano case restating the information already known, but added that through the Police efforts on the continuous investigation had found her last whereabouts, she was staying at the Amagi inn right before her death.]

Yu payed close attention to the news announcers as they mention the manager's daughter of the inn, they were anticipating that she take over it this spring, it was obviously Yukiko. The news continues its gossip until it was time for the weather…there will be heavy fog warnings for the region.

"Hmm…" Yu began thinking of a strategy to fight the upcoming shadows as he had difficulty with in the past…

"Is the ramen ready now?" Nanako seemed to be also hungry, she asked her dad slightly impatient.

"Give it some more time…" Dojima tells his daughter understanding her hunger. Yu sneezes randomly with Dojima turning to him.

"You sick? You're probably still adjusting to the environment…" Dojima shows slight concern for Yu's probable illness.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Yu tells him a little amused, knowing knowledge of the future does have its uses for inside jokes.

"Hmm…Nanako could you get some cold medicine for your cousin?" Dojima turned to his daughter as she nods, his cousin gets up from the table to go find it.

"You should take it before bed." Dojima was sincere and caring to his nephew.

"I will… thanks." Yu gives him a weak smile due to feeling sluggish. He soon heads to bed for the next day.

* * *

{April 15, 2011} {Rainy}

After watching Dojima leave for work in the morning and with Nanako feeling a little worried for her father on the way to their respective schools, Yu knew this single day was going to be a heavy one for all of those he knew, these days will continue for a while but he seemed eager not to let them be prolonged like before, though that was due to limitations he had in the past cycle. He walked on the wet and soggy path of the Samegawa Floodplain to Yasogami High School quietly passing by the gossiping girls talking about an incident that happened in the early morning while hearing police sirens in the distance, his persona kept quiet for a time, he understood Izanagi was resting himself for the conflicts ahead.

[School Auditorium, Afternoon]

Yu was standing in the second row among other students toward the podium, his friend Chie was in front of him in the first row with Yosuke right beside him. Yu's friends wondered what was with this sudden assembly of the school. He noticed that Yosuke's expression was sullen before the announcement by the school principal. Yu overheard someone whispering down the row of students, two girls were chatting about what one of them saw on the Midnight Channel, many here have seemed to have seen it, not knowing it was their fellow student Saki's demise taking place on their screens, Yu went quiet for a while.

"Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch…" Chie seemed concerned for her best friend's whereabouts, she turned toward her other friends wondering what was going on.

"I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden… Hey what's wrong Yosuke?" Chie noticed her friend's sad expression, Yu turned to see his face still sullen, he brighten up answer her.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Yosuke seemed to have something on his mind, Yu knew how he was feeling about the whole thing, he felt like apologizing to him though it would do nothing ease the upcoming pain that would haunt him for a time. Yu sighed shortly before facing the front as the assembly was about to begin.

The principal walked to the podium to bring the grim news, he began to speak.

"I regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you… one of our third years, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3… has passed away…" The news shocked the school instantly.

"Passed away…?!" Chie was shaken by her sudden death, other students expressed utter disbelief of this terrible news.

"…" Yosuke seemed like he was going to break down, somehow he kept composure for what the principal was going to say next.

"Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning… the reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you all to provide only the facts." As he spoke, students began talking amongst themselves of what they knew about the whole incident, he continued to speak.

"All right, please quiet down… I have been assured by the faculty that there was no evidence of bullying involved… so mind what you say, not only to the police but to anyone who asks…"

"Found dead…? How could this have happened…?" a shocked Chie turned to see her friend Yosuke's depressed face, she felt bad for him, she then noticed Yu's face as well but it seemed more bitter than sad. She wondered why that was as the principle's address continued on…

"…" Both Yu and Yosuke were quiet for a while...

* * *

[School hallway on the 1st floor of the main building, Afternoon]

After the school assembly, Yu went ahead with Chie back up to their classroom on the second floor as Yosuke stayed behind in the auditorium for a bit.

"I feel so bad for Yosuke…" Chie expressed to her friend as they walked beside each other heading towards the school's foyer, the stairs were near the big entrance.

"He really liked her… didn't he?" Yu spoke in a calm tone; he knew his friend all too well... he needed to help him on his feet once more.

"I can't imagine how that must feel… to lose someone you care about…" Chie followed up, she gazed up at him.

"Well, I can… so in any case, let's help him up when he's ready..." A passive Yu turned his head to Chie, he spoke with a slightly sad sounding tone, Yu had a small smile on his face that seemed it was trying to come off as comforting for her, but there was this pained look in his eyes. Chie began looking at him in wonder of what he went through in the past...

"Okay…" Chie turned her eyes forward to the hallway, but they kept wondering back to him, she was thinking of how his mood went sullen whenever the recent murders came up.

"H-Hey…" Chie got nervous, she was going to ask him personally about it until they both came to a complete stop... Chie and Yu turned to see two girls in uniform gossiping in the middle of the foyer hallway between its two sets of stairs leading up to the next floor.

"She died the same way as that announcer right? That's so creepy…" A rumor loving but frightened girl spoke to her friend about Saki Konishi.

"Last time it was antenna for the announcer, but this time she was hanging from a telephone pole… this has to be serial murder case..." The girl's friend responded back to her.

"Someone said that Saki's death was from some unknown poison…" The rumor loving girl sounded scared by the whole thing.

"Unknown… come on, I don't believe that… Oh by the way, did you hear this? Someone said they saw Saki on that Midnight Channel thingy... they said that she looked like she was in pain… now isn't that scary…" The girl's friend told her, she was shaken this time.

"Maybe they just had Saki on the brain, the news has been putting her interviews on nonstop no less…" The girls walked off down the hallway, continuing their gossip quietly.

"Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories when you're not personally involved…" Chie was frustrated by the girls carelessly spouting out rumors about the dead.

"Hey did you guys checked out the TV last night?!" Yosuke came up running from behind them, it seems he was done mourning for now, they turned to face their still upset friend.

"Yosuke, not you too…" Chie was growing tired of the rumors, Yosuke then expressed himself more on the subject.

"Just listen for a sec! Something kept bothering me… so I watched it again, and… I think the girl that was on the screen was Saki-Senpai… She was writhing in pain then she disappeared from my TV..." Yosuke was still upset but needed confess to this to his two friends, Yu watched him quietly and listened.

"What…?" Chie couldn't believe this; she was growing concern of what Yosuke might be planning to do.

"You guys heard that Senpai's body was found similar to that announcer's…right?" Yosuke continued his speech to them.

"I overheard you telling Yukiko about that guy's soulmate being the announcer, Ms. Yamano... she had to be on the Midnight Channel before she died…" Yosuke was deeply thinking about the whole thing.

"Hold on, are you saying people who show up on TV …die?" Chie seemed to grow more scared of what was going on… none of them understood really except for Yu.

"Stay focused, if thou let any feelings of regret overcome… thy performance may suffer…" Izanagi reminded his user awaking slightly to him in his mind.

"I will…" Yu responded to his persona, he steeled himself.

"I don't know for sure, but I can't dismiss this as a coincidence…" Yosuke continues on, there was no way to change his mind.

"…" Chie and Yu could not argue with him; it seems that he's going to involve himself in the matter… of course he is.

"Plus remember what the bear thing said about the fog clearing and that we should leave... it could have been dangerous to stay in there. It also said that someone's been throwing people in there…that creepy room with all the posters we saw might have something to do with the announcer's death! Don't you see the connection between that TV world and their deaths? What do you think, Yu?" Yosuke turned to Yu wanting to know what he thought of the whole thing.

"You might be right…" Yu responds calmly to him; Chie couldn't believe what she was hearing from him.

"If there really is a connection, then there's a good bet that they could have went inside that world. We could find a place from Saki-Senpai like that creepy room from that announcer." Yosuke explained the crazy thoughts he had.

"Yosuke don't tell me…" Chie knew what he was about to say.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out something for myself…" Yosuke was eager to find the truth about Saki's feelings before she died.

"D-Don't do this… you should let the police handl-" Chie was trying to convince him not to go, worried that he may get killed before she was cut off by him.

"You think you could really rely on the Police?! They haven't even made any progress on the first case…besides we can't even tell them about the TV because they aren't going to believe us!" Yosuke began shouting at her, Yu steps forward looking at him with a stern expression.

"Calm down…" Yu tells him; he didn't want to cause a scene at school.

"If I'm wrong about all of this, that's fine… It's just I need to know why senpai had to die like this..." Yosuke let his head go down to mourn for a bit longer.

"Oh Yosuke…" Chie seemed to not like this one bit, but she understood her friend's feelings a bit more.

"After putting all of this together in my mind, I can't just ignore it…" Yosuke tells them, he turns toward Yu.

"I'm sorry but you're the only person that can help me…I'm gonna go get ready, I'll be waiting for you at Junes..." Yosuke quickly tells him before running off out of the school grounds without even a reply from Yu, it was a selfish act, but Yu knew better.

"I can kinda understand how he feels… but we can't be sure that we'll be able to get out of there safely again…" Chie admits to Yu; she was a little nervous about Yosuke's hasty behavior.

"What should we do?" Chie asked him, uncertain about all of this, she looked up to his face, he meets her gaze.

"I have to go with him…" Yu tells her honestly, there was this "I'm sorry…" look in his eyes. Yu turns away from her and walks toward the entrance of the school to head to the place.

"Y-You're serious…?" The worried girl couldn't bring herself to understand why Yu agreed himself to help in Yosuke's foolish and maybe even suicidal plan (to her at the time anyways), she walked quickly to catch up to him before he leaves school as well.

"I'm going with you to Junes…" Chie had caught his right sleeve with her hand, he turns to her slightly, Yu was understanding of how she couldn't let her friends do this to her, it was like they throwing their whole lives away... the two stood there for a brief moment... Chie was feeling afraid that this could be...she shakes away the thought…

"Anyways, we just can't leave Yosuke alone for even a bit; we have to stop him..." Chie steeled herself with determination, ignoring Yu's choice to leave her there.

"Come on, let's go!" Chie went ahead of him out the school's front doors, he followed her.

"What's with people ignoring what thou are actually saying sometimes?" Izanagi was perplexed by this one strange phenomena, he asked Yu for his input.

"I Honestly don't even know…" Yu was pretty dumbfounded as well because he was trying to have a moment of "please, don't go…" with Chie. The two together started to run quickly down the rainy path to Junes.

* * *

[Junes department store, After School]

The two walked beside each other to the electronics section to find Yosuke, they reached to where the TV displays were when they first fell into the other world, they found their Junes friend holding a golf club and a long rope tied to his waist as a life line.

"Oh, you guys came!" Yosuke seemed excited to see friends join him on his quest.

"We came to stop you Idiot!" Chie expressed annoyance from Yosuke's antics, The Junes boy noticed Yu and looked to see if he was doing the same and trying to stop him as well. The grey haired boy was returning a nervous expression and shook his head "no" well behind Chie so she won't see him disagreeing with her.

"C'mon you really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous." Chie made an effort to convince him not to go through with this.

"I know…but we came back once, right? If we go in from the same location then maybe... we'll meet that weird bear again and get out like before." Yosuke tried to argue, convinced that it will work… because it does and needs to for Yu to save the world or else.

"Maybe, isn't good enough!" Chie continued her stance against Yosuke's wishes.

"Look I can't just look the other way like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me." Yosuke lamented right back to her.

"That's true but…" Chie expressed, she couldn't argue with that logic as Yu was surprised by her easily giving up her position. He had forgotten how easy it was to convince Chie into things(like how the jealous Rise was able to keep her tight grip on him by saying Yu was helping her with shopping... because they "weren't totally dates at all.") so he decided to take a mental note to prevent those kinds of things from happening again.

"What about you? Could you just walk away?" Yosuke asked Yu, with him and Chie looking toward their friend for his opinion, The steak loving girl stared at Yu, she was waiting for him to say no to Yosuke's plan using a cute smile for added power, while Yosuke pressed him with a look that seemed like a child wanting to go to the toy store.

"I'm worried about Chie." Yu expressed his concern for her this time, despite knowing full well of what would happen… he only really did it to show he understood Chie as she was still really afraid from the first time they went in the strange TV world, she looked at him with a touched expression…he gets a pass...this time anyway.

"Smooth there…but thou are going to need to make her lunch later." Izanagi tells him, impressed by his user's choice of words, Yu sighed in relief.

"Yeah, it'll be just you and me." Yosuke assured Yu about her coming along, the Junes boy looked toward her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan. Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this..." Yosuke hands her the rest of the rope that's tied to him.

"Huh, what is that? A rope?" Chie looked at the rope that Yosuke trusted her with.

"We'll go in with this tied to me, so hold on to it and wait here..." Yosuke tells her before moving toward Yu.

"Wh-what? Then, is this a life line?" C'mon wait a sec…" Chie began panicking, they are really going through with this.

"Here… this is for you, Yu." Yosuke hands him his dad's golf club quickly.

"I thought it might be better than going in empty handed." Yosuke admitted that a golf club was all he had, but Yu remembered he did have samurai swords with him at the food court that one time...

"Alright, let's go. No more wasting time here…Chie whatever you do…don't let go of that rope!" Yosuke tells her last before nodding to Yu to confirm if he's ready. The grey haired boy turned to Chie and began ruffling the girl's hair playfully as a goodbye… Chie couldn't believe what's happening, she was so shocked. Yu made his way first into the TV, As Yosuke decided to flash Chie with two thumbs up like a cool guy, he started heading to the TV as well.

"H-Hey! I said wait!" Chie holding the rope firmly shouting at them, she began panicking even more by them abruptly going inside the strange world without a care.

"Yeah! TV WORLD!" Chie hears Yosuke shouting something like that as he fell into the TV.

* * *

Author's notes:


	10. Chapter 10

The Awakening – Chapter 10

{April 15, 2011} {Rainy}

[Junes, After a while…]

Chie waited right in front of the flat screen holding the lifeline that's inside the TV very tightly, she began to wonder how a lot of people at Junes seemed clueless of such a Bizarre sight taking place right in front of their eyes like really…there's one average guy just checking out DVDs only a few feet away from her.

"Those guys… I can't believe they're doing this without a thought or care for how I feel… Sheesh!" Chie scratched her head after waiting a long time for them to come out. She decided to tug at the life line in hopes they were still okay…she didn't receive a tug in return…she started panicking and began quickly pulling the rope from the TV…*Cartoony Pop sound* …she stood there in stunned silence to see that Yosuke was no longer attached to the lifeline…she fell to her knees in absolute shock.

"See...? I knew this wasn't gonna work…now what?" Chie struggled to keep her composure on the verge of tears, she worried greatly for her friends…yeah, even Yosuke.

* * *

["TV World" ( **The Midnight Channel actually** ), After School]

The two bros continuously fell into the black and white rectangular wormhole in hopes of reaching that "TV studio place" again… they landed right on to it.

"Owww…" Yosuke had landed on his ass again while Yu manage to sort of stick his landing… they're going to have to fall from the TV at Junes every single time they come in this world…again.

"You know, I really should put a mattress here for the team…" Yu in his mind, coming to that thought just now of all times.

"Thou has a great idea…" Izanagi just realized as well.

"Holy crap! This is the same place as last time! So I guess that TV in Junes and this place must be connected…" Yosuke was really glad, he was starting to get it slowly, Yu was glad as well, but really just wanted to blurt out everything to him at this point, this was getting to be a bit too much for him but again he didn't know the consequences of doing that… the two stood up with a familiar figure running to them.

"It's you guys again!" Teddie trotted quickly to them, a squeak followed each step due to his "costume suit."

"Are you the guys behind this!" Teddie was accusing them of being the "ones" that are throwing people into his world.

"Hey, you're that weird bear from last time!" Yosuke responded back to Teddie, recognizing his strange appearance.

"You guys better stop throwing people in here! It's making this world more and more messed up! …this is your second time here and it seems no one forced you in… you guys must be the culprits! Raaarw!" Teddie pointing to them with his cute paw sounding like a baby bear cub.

"Mr. Bear, you got it all wrong we-" Yu decided to reason before getting cut off by a rude Yosuke.

"What are you talking about throwing people in here!? If someone threw people in here, they'd get trapped and-" Yosuke began arguing with the bear, though he came to a realization fairly quickly.

"Wait…does that strange bear mean Saki-Senpai and the Announcer lady? …were they thrown in here? H-hey what do you think?" Yosuke was shaken by this revelation, he turned to Yu for his input.

"That must be it." Yu said confidently to his friend, Yu was just watching the scene play out, …Izanagi was silent, thinking about something irrelevant at the moment... he sensed there was a **terrifying** **presence** just a distance away from the group. The Persona in Yu's mind felt they were being watched by it…there was also something different about the TV world in general since they first came…compared to the last cycle anyways, Izanagi figured he tell his user later. Yu's Persona was holding the idiot ball.

"Could they be throwing people in here…intending to kill them? If that's the case…" Yosuke was going to continue this "theory" until he was interrupted by Teddie.

"What are you guys are going on about?! And why are you here anyways! It's a one-way door and you can't get out once you're in, don't you guys remember that I had to let you guys out..." Teddie told them impatiently.

"Yeah whatever! We don't need you because we have this life-" Yosuke picked up the rope tied to his waist, it had been cut off from the TV, he was pretty upset to say the least.

"H-Hey! You better let us out once we're done investigating here!" Yosuke was really in no position to argue with Teddie, Yu was getting really tired of this.

"Grrr… I'm the one investigating! I lived here for a long time… It's never been this noisy until now! Do you guys have proof that you're not the ones behind all this!" Teddie was planting his cute little foot down.

"For the last time, it's not us! It isn't like last time when we came by accident… we're serious about this so you better answer all of our questions!" Yosuke fired back, trying to put this into Teddie's "thick" skull, Yu had just about had it with them.

"AH! So no proof!" Teddie exclaimed, he began arguing with Yosuke over the matter, Yu decided to take into his own hands instead of letting it play out.

"Listen up! People have died in our world…every time the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it…our place has to be be related to this world so please Mr. Bear…if you know something tell us." Yu was assertive but sincere to Teddie, Yosuke was stunned to see Yu show a little more energy, he was mostly calm and collected every time they hung out.

"A dead body? I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here…it's dangerous when the fog lifts…that's when the **shadows** turn violent." Teddie told them but then had hunch right as he said it.

"No more questions, I know you guys did so you better stop right now." Teddie was stubborn, he really didn't have a clue who it was so he pointed fingers.

"I told you and told you, it's not us, why won't you listen?!" Yosuke was losing his temper at The bear.

"I-'I'm just saying you guys might be the culprits…" Teddie backed down from his claim timidly.

"Ugh, this bear's driving me nuts…and what's with this place? It looks like a TV studio…is something being filmed here? Wait! Is that weird show being filmed here…?" Yosuke wondered about the Midnight Channel and this place not knowing it was actually the same thing.

"Huh? Filmed? Weird show?" Teddie was curious of what Yosuke was talking about.

"I'm asking if the people that are thrown in here are being filmed by someone." Yosuke explained to Teddie.

"This world's always been like this, you won't find that "filming thing" here." Teddie was being honest actually.

"Always been like this?" Yu asked, really only to make sure nothing changes in the way things go.

"Only me and shadows live here, I told you before!" Teddie explained, Yosuke decided he had enough of this.

"We don't know what shadows are or you for that matter, you're telling us to prove our innocence but you're the most suspicious thing here, so maybe it's you! And what's with that Costume? I think it's about time you showed your face!" Yosuke aggressively approached Teddie and began straining to pull the head off of the costume, until it popped right off revealing that Teddie's body was hollow inside…it scared the crap out of Yosuke, much to Yu's amusement.

"Wh-What the hell are you…I-It's empty inside?" Yosuke was bewildered by the headless bear who was now on the ground moving frantically like a turtle turned over on its shell.

"Here…" Yu walked over to the bear's head and picked it up for him, the bear's body sat up as Yu planted his head firmly unto his body.

"Ah, Thanks nice guy!" Teddie was glad to have his head back.

"I-I would never do such a thing…I just want to live here in my home peacefully…" Teddie admitted to them, he looked a little sad.

"…" Yosuke began to understand how the bear feels (even if he freaked him out.) much to Yu's relief.

"Okay. I'll believe it's not you guys doing this but…I want you to find the culprit, please you have to stop them!" Teddie pleaded to the two.

"Promise me or else…I won't let you guys outta here, this can't keep going on or my home will become a complete mess." Teddie really did have the upper hand in this, Yu knew this all too well so he agreed in his mind.

"Y-You little-" As Yosuke was about to go off at Teddie, Yu stood in front of him to cut it off.

"We Promise!" Yu said sincerely to Teddie with a bright smile on his face.

"Th-Thank You!" Teddie was relieved to have this nice guy on his side.

"Fine…damn bear's practically holding a gun to our heads…but we did to come here to figure things out…so I guess you have my word too." Yosuke really didn't have a choice; he lightens his mood for a bit.

"Might as well introduce ourselves…I'm Yosuke." Yosuke told Teddie, he gestured to Yu.

"And I'm Yu Narukami…" Yu told him with a slight bow, Izanagi told him to be always formal.

"Very good…" Izanagi praised his user in his mind with some cheerful hand claps.

"You got a name?" Yosuke asked Teddie.

"Teddie." The huggable bear told him with a smile.

"Well, that's fitting…" Yosuke was getting a little tired of these shenanigans and surprises, he did wonder about something else though.

"How are we supposed to find the culprit?" Yosuke asked Teddie, He looked around.

"Oh, I do know where the last person came in…" Teddie told him this actually very crucial info.

"You mean Saki-Senpai!?" Yosuke jumped at Teddies words, he got close to him to confirm it.

"Well, I don't know the name but sure…I'll take you guys there, you might find clues left behind…" Teddie explained to the Junes boy.

"Oh! First thing, take these and put them on…" Teddie remembered something, he handed them two pairs of very stylish glasses, one orange for Yosuke and another that was black for Yu.

"They do make thou look "cool" in battle, Huh?" Izanagi asked Yu for his take on the glasses.

"Yep, they sure do!" Yu admitted to this small bit, he proceeded to put on his pair.

"What're these for…Woah…" Yosuke had put them on, the whole world inside the TV became clearer, it was like the fog wasn't even there, Yu took in the familiar sights... the studio backlot was really a huge cube suspended in the air with floodlights above and below its corners, it's steel walkways connected to each side leading to other places in this world, the landing target in the center of it with all the body outlines had a checkered floor pattern of blue and red around it. The grey haired boy noticed the Velvet door wasn't there, Yu figured that he didn't have his key at this point in time...he checked his pocket…nope.

"They'll help you walk through the fog…I made them in my spare time, so you can rely on me for support, you guys have to defend yourselves." Teddie explained the glasses' function, while cowering out of any fighting.

"Wait, you mentioned shadows…are they like monsters? …I-I mean we brought weapons but there just for show…what if it gets dangerous?!" Yosuke was getting pretty nervous about any danger they may encounter.

"Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!" Teddie couldn't fight to save a life… not yet anyway.

"Don't worry you two, I'll protect all of us!" Yu told them enthusiastically, even taking a playful swing with the golf club still in his hands, Yosuke had a frozen smile with a sweat drop going down his forehead.

"Thanks!" Teddie was counting on him, he turned toward Yosuke.

"One Thing, who is this Saki Person…is it someone you know?" Teddie was curious about the Person's name and what they meant to Yosuke.

"That…doesn't matter right now. Let's get moving… maybe we can find more information, Yu!" Yosuke brushed off Teddie's question and ran to a steel walk way urgently (because really I don't need to explain that again do I? Well…until social links anyway.)

"Right… come on, Teddie!" Yu gestured to The bear to follow them quickly.

"Right, but h-how did you know my name before!?" A-And Do you guys know where you're going?!" Teddie ran after them in some random direction inside the TV as Chie in the normal world began bawling for them probably thinking they were already dead...as the small group left the studio backlot…a rather large floating humanoid figure in a black duster hid in the darkness out of view near the place…it led out a ghastly sounding sigh through the cloth Sack that enshrouded its head. The sack had a hole to reveal its ominous white eye with a tiny black pupil to see its surroundings…it had managed to capture the group running a distance away to somewhere.

"Heehee, it's really Been too Long… DEATH is making a come bACK! WOO HOO!" The Reaper Began cackling evilly, the powerful shadow was pretty impatient to say the least… eager to hunt down Yu and his friends in order to grant them an untimely end to their long journey to seek the truth…it was really just for fun. The Reaper readied one of its dual three-foot-long Revolvers in hand and took a shot into the air in lively celebration.

Teddie led The two adventurers through the TV world to get to the destination that the bear told them about, it was a horrible twisted parody of Inaba's shopping district, the duo walked up the street a bit.

"What is this…it's looks exactly like the shopping district…" Yosuke looked around to capture a view of the place…whoever did this went all out.

"Hmm…" Yu began remembering all those times spent here, well... in the non- twisted version.

"Thou mind if I ask?" Izanagi was going to ask a question in his user's mind.

"Go ahead…" Yu was ready for the question.

"Mind if thou retrieve all thy books again? I-I Wasn't done reading one…" Izanagi sounded shy.

"Uh…sure...which one?" Yu was perplexed by the nervousness of his persona.

"I-I can't tell thou… it's very embarrassing..." Izanagi went silent for Yu to get back to listening to his friends…Yu wondered what he was the heck was going with him.

"What's going on, Teddie?" Yosuke asked the bear perplexed by all of this being here.

"Some weird places have appeared here recently. Things are getting so messed up, I dunno what to do…" Teddie walked up from behind them.

"Uh… by the way, why are you standing so far from us? …You better not be planning to high-tail it if something bad does come up!" Yosuke yelled at the bear for being afraid despite being afraid as well.

"Of course not! I mean... Uh, I can't stand too close, you know... I-I'd get in your way…" Teddie tried to cover his cowardice, Yu understood.

"Hmm… Man, they really got every detail right… but out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?" Yosuke observed a particular crack on the road, remembering he caused it in an accident with his bike.

"How should I know? This is reality for the ones who are here." Teddie was honest, but Yosuke couldn't understand this yet.

"*sigh* As usual, nothing you say makes any sense… But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-Senpai's…" Yosuke ran off, not even bothering to finish his sentence with Teddie and Yu following him. He stopped at a liquor store with a strange red and black vortex pouring inside from the door to the place.

"This is the liquor store that Senpai's Parents run…" Yosuke looked all over the place, he had come here a couple of times to visit his "sweetheart."

"Does this mean… Senpai disappeared here? What could've happened…?" Yosuke wondered what the heck happened to her in there.

"W-Wait a second. Th-They're here!" Teddie cut off Yosuke's train of thought.

"What?" Yosuke looked toward Teddie with a puzzled look.

"…Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack…!" Teddie cried out pointing to the bizarre door.

Yosuke looked out as two blobs phased through the door, they were made of darkness adorned with a mask to serve as a face, Teddie went right next to Yu in fear of them. The blobs began shaping themselves into floating head monsters with long gross tongues to use as weapons, Yosuke fell onto the ground in shock at the sight of these shadows. Yu closed his eyes, a spark shot through his mind, Izanagi called for his user…there was also that piercing noise again.

"THE TIME HAS COME, OPEN THY EYES AND CALL FORTH WHAT IS WITHIN!" Izanagi was being dramatic for this bit; he was playing along with his user too. Yu began to feel something in his hand, he opened his eyes to the Tarot card of Izanagi and proceeded to flip it over, it began glowing a shining white light…He smiled…Teddie was in awe of this happening.

"Per…so...na!" Yu could have really said it all together but he was getting into it a bit too much. The card in his hand began to engulf itself in blue flames, letting out streams of energy which then proceeded to engulf him in it as well. From the aura, emerged the figure of Izanagi in his full form. Him and his user were still weak, this showed by a small occurring fritz on Izanagi's image, he flashed quickly back into Yu's body.

*Fight Whoosh!*

{-REACH OUT TO THE TRUTH-}

"It's good to be back!" Yu shouted excitedly in his mind as the two shadows rushed him to attack, Teddie called out to him.

"Those shadows have the same weakness, try a spell of your magic out!" Teddied cried out to him in hopes for the best.

"Izanagi!" Yu's eyes tensed up as he summoned his persona by the crush of his card. Izanagi came forth and quickly casted Zio with a hand stretched out to the enemies, the bolt of electricity knocked down one of the charging shadows, the other halted its advance to the persona user in surprise.

"Cleave!" Yu called forth Izanagi again to strike down the vulnerable shadow with his blade, vanquishing it. the other remaining shadow retreated away from the district in fear of the persona's wrath, the battle was won.

"Yu has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships…the Persona Izanagi!" Izanagi raised his sword and declared comically to Yu, with him shaping a bright smile on his face, Izanagi went back to his card form and floated down gently fading into Yu's hand.

Yosuke was pretty freaked, and Yu couldn't blame him. It's not every day that you're in a TV and see crazy tongue monsters fighting a kid with a golf club and supernatural powers, he stood up and ran to him.

"Did I hear you say "Persona"!? What was it-I mean, what did you do!? Hey, you think I can do it too…?" Yosuke was astonished by his buddie's newfound power.

"Calm down, Yosuke. You're troubling Sensei!" Teddie was right next to him with a content smile.

"S-Sensei…?" Yosuke was confused by Teddie referring Yu in respect and not him.

"Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear!" Teddie jumped up happily, Yu smiled warmly at the bear.

"I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!" Teddie exclaimed.

"*gasp * Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?" Teddie added with a gasp but really how did he know this stuff? someone must have told him... Yu was puzzled as he did not recall him saying something like that, there could only be so much he could remember, right? Yu nodded in reply.

"Hah, I thought so! This is really something." Teddie was amazed by this discovery.

"Don't you think so, Yosuke?" The bear asked the Junes boy.

"Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect!?" Yosuke couldn't let that go…

"Sorry…" Teddie looked sad, apologizing to Yosuke who started to feel guilty.

"W-Well, your support wasn't bad, though. I gotta give you some credit for that." Yosuke could not stay mad at the sad but cute bear.

"Huh? R-Really…? Heehee." Teddie blushed at his compliment, Yu smiled at Yosuke with a teasing look, he talked to Izanagi.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Yu asked his Persona in mind.

"Well, Jiraiya did say he wanted to surprise Yosuke-san in his own way, I would like to keep my promise to not interfere." Izanagi spoke remembering his partner's shadow form was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

"You ready?" Yu worried about his persona.

"I just wonder what he'll say to me…" Izanagi was pretty curious how Jiraiya felt about him…

"All right, you two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out. Now, let's get back to the investigation! Man… I wonder what could have happened to Senpai here." Yosuke went back to business, counting on Yu to save the day again if trouble is a foot.

As the trio and Izanagi approached the door, they were surrounded by voices of unseen people.

"I wish Junes would go under…It's all because of that store…"

"Wh-What the…?" Yosuke and the others listened to the voice's sayings.

"Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there. Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…? I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes."

"S-Stop it…" Yosuke cried out.

"That poor father… to have his own daughter working for the enemy. What a troublesome child…"

Yosuke was shaken by what he was hearing.

"You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!? So... does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here…?" Yosuke asked Teddie, a little wary of this place a bit more.

"I… only know about what's over here." Teddie admitted to him, he couldn't help the boy.

"Fine…Whatever's going on here… We'll find out ourselves!" Yosuke brushed off what he was hearing and the two along with Izanagi entered the liquor store.

* * *

Author notes:


	11. Chapter 11

Midnight Channel Boss: **SHADOW YOSUKE** – Chapter 11

{April 15, 2011} {Rainy}

[Konishi Liquor store, TV World]

Yosuke and friends (well, except Teddie for a bit for some dramatic reason…) ran inside Saki's family liquor store to find clues behind her death, which in turn could be the first step (as it is) that leads them to catch the culprit. The place had an open area and on its sides were stuffed with lots of kegs at every corner and alcohol bottles just spread about everywhere. The duo begins to hear an unseen man's voice yelling as they come in.

"Ugh, not again with this…" Yosuke was growing tired of hearing these voices… because they speak of a reality he refused to believe.

"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?"

"Wait, I-Is this… Senpai's dad…?" Yosuke recognized the gruff man's voice as he began looking up to where it was coming from, it continued speaking.

"You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"

"I… I can't believe this… Saki always seemed like she had fun at work… She never said anything like this to me…You're telling me THIS was how she really saw things!?" Yosuke was tormented by the words heard throughout the place, he ran to the counter of the store's register with Yu following him, the Junes boy began examining what was on it, there were a bunch of photos piled together in scarps, Yosuke digs through them and finds one in particular, things get worse from there.

"It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes… Wh-Why's it cut up like this…?" Yosuke looks at the photo in his hand…The scrap of photo shows Saki Konishi smiling… Yosuke is standing next to her… Yu remained silent by Yosuke's side as he was never able to comfort him at this point, this very moment really made him feel useless… but he knows that he'll eventually help his buddy get back up on his feet again.

"Get ready…" Izanagi spoke quietly in his user's mind, he sensed the shadow of his partner forming slowly, Yu's grip on the golf club tensed up in determination...it was time.

" I… never had the chance to say it…" Saki's voice began speaking for the last time…

"Is that… Senpai's voice!?" Yosuke despite feeling sad only a moments ago, perked a bit to hear her voice again.

"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…" Saki continued to speak.

"Huh…? Me…?" Yosuke wondered in hope of what she was going to say.

"…that he was a real pain in the ass. I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all…But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic… What a dip…though I gotta admit he did have a cute friend…" Saki sounded like she was thinking right at the end there, Yosuke wasn't taking this well to be sure and Yu started wondering why she needed to add that extra detail, seriously.

"Wha-What?" Yosuke was heartbroken and in despair now…

"…I'm starting to think the events are deliberately changing themselves over time due to whatever Philemon and Igor did…" Izanagi spoke to Yu.

"Yeah, it can't be us right?" Yu wondered to his persona, they decided put the thought away for later to prepare themselves for what's to come.

"Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back…I wish everything would just disappear…" Saki's voice faded out.

"I-It's a lie… Senpai's not like that…we were gonna have a million beautiful children together!" Yosuke spoke out loud and it was really strange of him to say something that, but somehow he was seemingly still in character, Izanagi observed the oddity taking place.

"Now come on! That's is not right!" Izanagi knew that didn't happen before.

"Yeah, I gotta admit that was pretty off…" Yu looked around to see if anything else was until he spotted another Yosuke in a dark corner of the store but this Junes boy had bright golden eyes and a dark aura surrounding him.

"*sniff* It's so sad… I feel so sorry myself… Boo hoo…" The Shadow sounded mockingly to them and stepped out of the shadows, the two friends faced toward the shadow in slight surprise.

"Heh, oh Saki… I'm the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass. Hahaha…" The Shadow spoke to them, continuing to sound like ass.

"H-Huh? Two Yosukes…?" Teddie came running to the duo as things got more dramatic.

"Ha! More like one Yosuke…and one awesome Yosuke…" Yosuke's shadow seems to have an ego as well in a way, pointing to himself with a confident grin. Yosuke approached his shadow self as the other two followed him beside each other, both went quiet for him to "talk it out" with his shadow.

"Who are you!? I-I wouldn't think that…" Yosuke was now in denial of what his other self said.

"Hahaha… Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You are sick of everything, especially living out in the boonies! You were just a "bored out of your skull" lonely teenager and then these murders came up…at least something was happening, am I right!?" The Shadow accused his other self, speaking in a distorted voice with a smug smile.

"What're you saying…? That's not true, I-" Yosuke tried to argue but it was really pointless…at this point.

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation... and what is this all about? Checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…" The Smug Shadow spoke the hidden truths inside Yosuke, Yu listened to him knowing he was right about everything.

"S-Stop it!" Yosuke couldn't bare hearing all of this…

"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that…? Because I AM you!" The Shadow was a real prick, just to put that out there.

"A world inside the TV-now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?" The Shadow began imitating his other self, mocking him.

"That's not true… Stop… Stop it…" Yosuke was panicking, trying to fight those feelings inside him.

"You're just trying to act like a big shot. If all went well... Hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!" The shadow revealed to him this fantasy of his.

"That's not true! What are you!? Who are you!?" Yosuke went back to denial, he began looking away from himself.

"*chuckle *What does it look like? I'm you… Your shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!" Shadow Yosuke was super right about that…

"Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me, you… son of a bitch!" Yosuke faced him and said the magic words. The shadow begins chuckling then outright bursts into laughter.

"That's Right! Say it again!" The shadow was provoking Yosuke; Yu was preparing his card and golf club behind his buddy.

"You're not me! Y-YOUR NOTHING LIKE ME!" Yosuke shouted at his shadow self in desperation, the others stood by and watched the scene play out, Yu was preparing himself mentally for the fight alongside Teddie who was glaring at **Shadow Yosuke**.

"Hmm… Yeah that's right…I am me now; I'm not you anymore see…" Shadow Yosuke began glowing a bright white light as awesome background music plays out, small streams of dark red energy (smaller shadows) came onto Shadow Yosuke and began enveloping him… Yosuke backs away a bit in shock to see the transformation of his repressed feelings but then suddenly faints and falls to the ground. The shadow's figure grew much larger in size, from the dark aura that began dissipating from him... emerged a tall but thin black humanoid figure with a red scarf, it had on big yellow cartoony gloves and ninja stars for eyes, it's lower body was actually another creature with four amphibious legs, this creature's "skin" was covered in military camo… it was very frog-like in nature as a whole, the creature brandished yellow shark-like teeth, it was sporting a huge frozen slasher smile.

"Teddie, Take Yosuke to any cover you can find…go on." Yu spoke in calm tone as he had readied the golf club and his Persona card, he faced toward the shadow as he finished changing into his new form.

"B-But Sensei…" Teddie was worried to leave Yu alone but the grey haired boy turned toward him and gave the bear a confident smile.

"I'm your sensei, so believe in me…" Yu tells him as Shadow Yosuke began making his approach to the Persona user, the ground shook slightly with each loud step taken by his feet due to the shadow's heavy build.

"Okay, but if you feel threaten… just guard yourself to cover any weakness!" Teddie cheerfully gave him a sort of helpful tip for the battle ahead as he proceeded to drag an unconscious Yosuke behind some silver kegs in a corner of the store. Yu turned toward the large shadow and begun glaring at the fiend, this battle was for Yosuke's life.

*Fight Whoosh*

{-I'LL FACE MYSELF-}

The large approaching shadow came to a halt, Shadow Yosuke faced across Yu in the middle of the liquor store.

"I am a shadow… the true self! I'll crush everything that bores me…Starting with Yu-san!" The Shadow spoke out pointing toward Yu accompanied by gangly movements.

"Now, get out of the way! Wind of Oblivion!" The shadow launched a strong wind attack against Yu.

"Ngh…I wonder why Teddie tells me that right before it happens!" A powerful gust knocked Yu a distance away from the shadow, he slid towards some glass door refrigerators that were off to the side of the store. The fiend charged itself to focus its next attack. Shadow Yosuke proceeded to move menacingly closer to him…

"Ha! How long can you survive this time!" The shadow began laughing at the Persona user on the ground. Yu got up quickly with his card in hand to counter Shadow Yosuke.

"Izanagi!" Yu crushed his tarot card and summoned the Japanese God to quickly cast Zio on The still laughing Shadow. Shadow Yosuke was weakened by the light electric shock and he was knocked over on his back in huge pain as a result. The Shadow struggled to get back up.

"You little bastard!" Shadow Yosuke hissed at him, Yu wasted no time to follow up his attack.

"Persona!" Yu brought forth Izanagi again to cleave the downed shadow with his blade, landing a hit against him, but the shadow just shook it off.

"Heh, that's not gonna work, Yu-san!" The shadow was able to get back up on his feet and attacked him with a large leg stomp in attempt to squash the Persona user, but Yu was able to guard himself in time with the surprisingly sturdy golf club, they were now in a small power struggle.

"Don't fail me now…" Yu was actually talking to the bargain bin golf club at this moment, it was close to his face as he struggled to keep it above his head. He was able to achieve good leverage with it and now had a free hand.

"Come on, Izanagi!" Yu summoned his persona to cast Zio once again against Shadow Yosuke in order to break the struggle.

"Forgive me… partner." Izanagi spoke quietly as he used the spell on his friend, the bolt of electricity had knocked the shadow over on his back again.

"It's You again!" Shadow Yosuke was able to recognized the Persona fighting him while enraged by his annoying user, he got back up quickly and spoke.

"Oh! Izanagi is so COOL and AWESOME!" Shadow Yosuke began imitating a girly voice poorly, what he said suspiciously sounded like something Konohana would say. Izanagi was quiet in Yu's mind.

"Everyone likes him more than me…Take, Kintoki, Sukuna, Tomoe, Himiko…Konohana…" Shadow Yosuke listed their friends for Izanagi to hear closely while sounding annoyed.

"The fool has Himiko and Tomoe wrapped around his finger…without even trying! I can't tell if it's either he's such an idiot or just pretending to be clueless about their feelings! Konohana… she is in love with him…and he doesn't give a damn does he?!" The angry shadow pointed toward Yu's head as Izanagi was there.

"I never knew that he felt this way, I apologize, my dear friend… so he in fact does like her, I was right about that indeed..." Izanagi spoke in his user's mind, a little proud of his theory for it was now a fact as he thought they were amusing together for "reasons."

"…"

"Were you also playing ignorant to their feelings?" An accusing Yu questioned his Persona distracted by him speaking out about it, Shadow Yosuke was approaching them quietly.

"No, I honestly didn't know about any of that… I'm very old, so romance to me is really just "Do you like me or not? Yes, or no?" Izanagi stated bluntly, he only ever had one real relationship so you can't really blame him… I honestly don't know about that.

"You got to start reading the "mood" when it's on you, Izanagi…" Yu advices him for future's sake, Izanagi also needed to tell him about something else.

"Well…alright I will try, but firs-" Izanagi was cut off from speaking as his user was pushed to the ground in surprise, he was held down by one of Shadow Yosuke's heavily-built frog legs, Yu strained himself with a single free arm to get the Shadow's foot off of him.

"And then there's Yu-san… Oh sorry Brosuke, I can't hang out today… I gotta go study and romance every girl in Inaba! …You rejected Yukiko's and Rise's feelings after leading them on, you piece of shit! Hell! Yukiko-san was even going to give my own user a chance after you did, but she was still hung up on you!" The Shadow mocked and shouted out to the Wild Card under his foot.

"I'm Sorry… Jiraiya." Yu spoke weakly as pressure to the foot was applied by Shadow Yosuke in order to crush him into nothing very slowly and painfully.

"Oh, you're sorry are you!? That loser fought for you every day since Saki died… he needed "his best friend" the most and you only hanged out with him when it's "convenient" …you're not his real friend! We stood alongside you all the time but you wouldn't always stand by us when we needed you!" Shadow Yosuke applied more and more pressure onto Yu's body.

"I-I'm different now than before… me and Izanagi weren't able to stand on our own feet and we struggled to keep up with you and Yosuke… but now… because of everyone I met here and had strong bonds with… I can keep using Izanagi instead of leaving him behind and be able to seek the truth with all of you with him by my side… because we are all friends together in this, aren't we? ...I never did have any real reason to find the "real" culprit and seek the truth until Nanako died… but now I fight for the past team because they had all fought so hard for me… they elected me to lead them down the killer's trail through a lot of hardship and bad memories, and I really don't want to disappoint any of them in this second chance we have to find that truth we all missed out on. I bear with knowing mostly everything about the case even if I just have to stand by and watch you all figure it out… but no matter what, I will try my very best to make the true companions I made here proud as their real leader this time." A weak Yu spoke his feelings about himself and the past team. His Persona Izanagi did in fact grow slowly and was weaker compared to the others, but because of the bonds he made, he was able to power up the Japanese God much faster in order keep him by his side, Yu believed him to be his "own persona" just like the rest…despite being able to use multiple stronger personas alongside Izanagi.

"You and Yosuke gave me the strength to overcome all that pain I felt when Nanako passed away for a time …and now, I want to do the same for you both much more quickly." Yu tells Shadow Yosuke on top of him with a genuine smile as he crushes his Tarot card as it had appeared in his only free hand.

"What the Heck?!" Shadow Yosuke was caught in a surprise counter attack... Izanagi appeared before him in an instant. The Japanese God was looking straight at him with a half glare for his user was in danger, the shadow flinched a bit at his quickness. Izanagi actually needed to tell him something first before pummeling him.

"I apologize for every pain I caused you including what's going to happen next… and I'll tell Konohana that you're interested in her so you won't have to…" Izanagi seemed very serious about doing that.

"Y-You better not! I-I'll kill you!" The Shadow seemed nervous and flustered about his friend's declaration.

"Sorry… You're my best friend by the way…" Izanagi lastly gestured a smile on his own face using both of his index fingers and then he begun winding up an arm instead of using his blade like he always did. The Japanese God had casted Zio on his arm by using his other to amplify the punching power behind it.

"This is whole thing is going to suck…I'll see you in hell!" Shadow Yosuke seemed to have given up at first but came that one last act of defiance, Izanagi then super punched his friend's face... knocking out both ninja stars that were on his head. The Shadow staggered a bit and ultimately fell over in defeat. Izanagi nodded to Yu after the battle, the Persona user got himself up as Izanagi faded back into a card and floated down onto his hand, the card faded out and disappeared.

"It's all good guys!" Yu shouted out to them to signal that everything is okay now. Yu was a little exhausted and sore, his uniform and hair were all messed up from the battle. Yu walked over to where Teddie and Yosuke are located, they were still behind some kegs in a corner.

"I-I Didn't understand any of THAT! But I'm glad you're okay, Sensei!" The eavesdropping bear waved to him in relief as he approached them, as Yu knew Teddie wasn't bright so he didn't need to worry about that…Yosuke began waking up.

"Yosuke, are you okay!?" Teddie turned to Yosuke on the ground and began helping him on his feet as Yu came up to join them.

"Y-Yeah… What… happened…?" Yosuke asks the two around him a little dazed from his nap, he noticed that his Shadow got up after reverting back to its original state, the shadow walked toward his other self, stopping after a short distance to stare at him quietly, waiting.

"You… You're… not me…" Yosuke tells his shadow once more. He seems reluctant to accept it…

"That thing came from you, Yosuke…You have to admit it… or it'll go berserk again…" Teddie told the boy in a comforting tone. Yu decided to help his buddy a bit with this a little more than before.

"It really is a part of you, but it's not you as whole… remember that. It's just one half but that doesn't mean you'll always feel that way…you have to brave, man." Yu tells Yosuke, he laid a soft hand on his shoulder complete with a gentle smile and understanding eyes.

"Be brave huh? … Dammit… It hurts to face yourself… I knew it wasn't lying... But I was ashamed that I didn't want to admit it… You're me… and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me." Yosuke tells his other self and walks up to him, the shadow began to smile warmly at him.

"The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…Yosuke has faced his other self...well mostly." Izanagi speaks in relief inside Yu's mind, Yu was glad it turned out okay.

"The Shadow turned into a Persona!" Teddie exclaims seeing that Yosuke's shadow faded up and began transfiguring into the Persona "Jiraiya." Yosuke's Persona appeared before him and nodded respectfully to his "new" user while floating, Yosuke looked at him amazed and wondered if he was still sentient but then remembered he was slightly fatigued… Jiraiya figured that he should surprise him later when the time's right, he needed to rest as well. He was very glad to be back with his user. He faded out and the Tarot card of Jiraiya formed and gently floated into Yosuke's hand and disappeared.

"This is my Persona… When we heard Senpai's voice…I wonder if that was something She had been keeping deep down inside…Haha… He was a real pain in the ass, huh? What a way to find out… Geez, this is so embarrassing… If you weren't here, I don't know what would have happened…Thanks, Yu." Yosuke smiled embarrassed at his friend, grateful that he was there for him.

"Hey, Teddie… Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?" Yosuke turns toward Teddie and asks in curiosity.

"I think so. The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk… And you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the host." Teddie explains to the two. it all made sense now…well for Yosuke since the other two already knew that.

" …" Yosuke appeared tired from the day's major events, he felt like going home and taking a nice shower.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out…This world wasn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you guys here. I don't hear any more voices… I think we're done with this place. Let's go back." Teddie sees that Junes boy and Sensei needed rest, so they went back to the studio backlot, leaving this "store" to remain here.

"I wonder what prank Jiraiya will pull on Yosuke-san this time…" Izanagi wondered to Yu as walked along side Teddie and Yosuke, he was looking forward to see Yosuke's face tomorrow when Jiraiya scares the pants out him later.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything severe…" Yu speaks to him feeling thankful to his persona, with his help Yu figured out that it was Jiraiya's whole idea for all of them to stay in his room that night to cause him stress and anger. Jiraiya was a jerk but also a friendly nice guy, he really was like his user.

Luckily, the now "five-man group" reached the studio backlot to where they would get back home without having a run-in with a certain shadow that has a sack on it's head. The trio were in the center of the entrance hall discussing the "Case." Yosuke was talking with Teddie still not knowing about the mythological Ninja who uses frog magic inside his head listening as his Persona kept quiet waiting for an opportunity to introduce himself to his user in a special way.

"Hey, Teddie. You said that this place is reality for people who enter, right? So that shopping district, and the weird room we saw before…Did they exist because of the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality?" Yosuke asks The Bear in wonder, Teddie looked unsure of what he said, so Yu tried to explain in simple words.

"I guess what he is trying to ask is… Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?" Yu tells Teddie who still was unsure.

"I actually don't know. It's never happened before… But that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them." Teddie explains to them, this was mostly review for Yu, Izanagi, and Jiraiya.

"This world killed them, huh?" Actor Yu Narukami, to Teddie who somewhat agreed.

"The fog does lift here sometimes... the shadows get really violent then after. I always get so scared… I have to hide when it happens… I sensed people here twice before. But both of them disappeared after the fog lifted…" Teddie explains more.

"So let's get this straight… Senpai and that Yamano lady were thrown in here, and they couldn't get out, they wandered around… After a while, that Shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, it went berserk, and it ended up killing them…Does that sound right? So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I would have been in much deeper trouble?" Yosuke speculates to Teddie, Yu watches them quietly as they figure this out, he wondered about something else in the meantime...

"Hey Izanagi, what book did you not finish?" Yu questioned him in wonder about what he said before.

"thou know when thou see it…" an embarrassed Izanagi was trying to put off telling him, he pushed his user in mind to get back to the main conversation.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. You were lucky that Sensei and me were here with you." Teddie tells them.

"Senpai and that announcer… They were stuck here all alone… No one could save them…" Yosuke was a bit down, Yu then approached him and laid some pats on his shoulder, he truly felt the same way.

"Yosuke…They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No Shadows attacked them. They attacked us, though…Maybe they've been keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies… It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! We might be able to save people!" Teddie explains to a now lit up Yosuke hearing that, the shadows here did attack them all the time instead of being peaceful ones like... wait spoiler, sorry.

"Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!? Like how you guys saved me!?" Yosuke had a surprised expression, he jumped at the chance to a be real hero…

"That seems to be the case, man." Yu sees that his buddy seemed excited, he was glad to see him a better mood now.

"Anyways… We need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop. Yeah… I'm finally starting to understand what's going on." Yosuke goes back to being serious, the grey haired boy smiled at him as he was getting the situation more quickly.

"U-Um… Hey, can I ask something too…? If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?" Teddie referred to himself in third person for the first time, he was hoping they would help him in his life journey.

"You don't even know where you came from!? How should we know?" Yosuke had a point, but they did eventually learn what the heck Teddie was in the past or future...however you take it.

"I know some things. Mostly about this world… But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now… Will you guys… come back here…?" Teddie was timid and nervous to ask the two for this.

"We made a promise, Teddie." Yu tells him with an assuring smile, the Bear's face lit up in happiness.

"You'll… keep your word?" The bear was hopeful.

"Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do." Yosuke agreed in his own way to the Baer.(that's not a typo)

"Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in from the same place every time. So we can meet up." Teddie explains to them as he runs to the side of the backlot.

"You could come in from somewhere else. But then you won't end up here. You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be doooomed…Got it!?" Teddie spoke that last part in spooky voice.

"I feel like we're forgetting something…" Yu wondered out loud, his Persona didn't know either.

"Yeah now that you mention it…" Izanagi sounded in wonder as well.

"Okay from Junes then, can you show us the way out? We gotta get back to our world." Yosuke says as Yu behind him realized in horror that they forgot about Chie in Junes, He quickly tries to fix his messy hair and school uniform that he got from battle the best he could in order to not worry her.

"Roger that! One exit comin' right up!" Teddie taps his foot and those same three 70s style TVs stacked on top of each other appeared in a poof of smoke.

"Cool… First we need to make sure there aren't any employees milling around out there…" Yosuke says he sees Yu rushing to the lowest TV in surprise, he didn't realize what exactly came over his buddy as Teddie got behind him and began pushing forcefully.

"Okay! Go go go! Squiiiish!" Teddie shouts out as he forces Yosuke into the middle TV.

"Argh! Hey! Stop squeezing, you little-Whoa!" Yosuke falls alongside Yu into the black and white rectangular wormhole.

* * *

[Entrance Hall, TV World]

The powerful Reaper appeared before Teddie, wondering where those Persona users went to.

"DAMMIT, I THINK I'VE MISSED THEM!" The Reaper exclaims disappointed as he slouched in defeat lowering his dual long-barrel revolvers right by Teddie.

"How's it going stranger?!" Teddie greeted him, The Bear was pretty upbeat at the moment due to the recent promise he made with the others, he begins a conversation with the Reaper since he sensed no danger from him ...right now.

"Huh, What the…" The curious floating Reaper lowers his Head to face the innocent-looking Teddie in wonder.

"Is there anything I could help you with?" Teddie asked him with a cheerful smile. The Reaper begins to have a devious grin under the cloth sack on his head as he thought of a plan.

"WELL, There is something you can do…" The Reaper politely told him, he begins to laugh maniacally at this chance right after saying so.

"Okay! Let's hear it!" Teddie didn't seem to mind his 'weird' laughter, as the guy seemed pretty friendly.

* * *

Author's notes: And there you have it, captain of Yosuke x Yukiko! (they'll get together but on a natural pace because they need to deal with themselves, I assure you.) But I do have to tell you there are actual problems regarding their respective Personas, specifically their ultimate forms (and I don't mean the third tier forms) …they're brother and sister in those forms and who they represent in actual myth, they really don't get along and their dad is Izanagi himself, if you really want to get some behind the scenes action: THEY DON'T KNOW THEY'RE RELATED due to a plot point! There will be no incest, guaranteed. One important note…are there any fans of Marie here? If you would like her in this story, then please tell me yes and how you would like her portrayed in it, through messages and reviews.

Side notes for Future chapters:

-The start of a beautiful "Gurren Lagann esque" friendship between Yosuke and Jiraiya.

-The Catherine Joke will involve Rise…when it comes up.

-Yu's other Personas will show up in important battles and each have personalities as well… whether or not they get along with the team's personas is anyone's guess but me.


	12. Chapter 12

Case: Yukiko Amagi (Part I)/ A Magician and his Persona… - Chapter 12

{April 15, 2011} {Rainy}

[Junes electronics section, After School]

Yu and Yosuke were now "Persona" users (for the second time technically), they emerged from the large flat screen they had jumped into to get to the TV world. What they saw on the store ground was a sad and crying Chie, unknown to them though was that a gullible Teddie had just sold them down the river for shenanigans to come.

"Ah…!" Chie was astonished to see her two friends alive and somewhat well. The two were looking towards her on the ground, they noticed that she had been sobbing, this really ate at Yu's heart to see her like this, Yosuke was surprise to see her cry.

"Y-You guys came baaack…!" Chie's voice was very uneasy from all the emotional trauma she endured as they left her to go to that strange place, her worry quickly was turning into anger.

"Huh? Chie? Whoa, what's with that face?" Yosuke asks almost casually to her, he notices her eyes were really red and streams of tears had come down from her eyes, she stood up threw the rope aggressively at Yosuke, because he was the only one was being insensitive to her feelings.

"Ow!" Yosuke was knocked to the ground in front of the flat screen TV, Yu's face was pretty bummed out seeing her worry like this, he wouldn't want to ever do this part again if he had to.

"There, there…" Izanagi tried to ease his user's mind.

"T-The nerve of you guys! Y-You are such morons! I-I can't believe this! You guys suck!" A teary-eyed Chie expressed her anger borne from worry of her two friends by shouting at them while using her arms to gesture how she felt inside her mind, thankfully nobody seemed to be around to see the scene, Yosuke got the message to not kid around as Yu was starting to stare coldly at him, it couldn't be helped anyways.

"T-The rope got cut off… and I had no idea what to do… I was so w-worried…" Chie was trying wipe her tears using the sleeves of her green track suit, Yu tried to approached Chie in an attempt to calm her down, he was feeling the need to do this for her.

"Chie, I-" But Yu was ultimately cut off by Chie who gazed at him quickly showing her angrysobbing face to him and again shouted at them.

"I-I mean scared stiff, dammit! I hate you both!" Chie wiped her eyes with a sleeve for the final time before running away still probably in tears from the all the emotions, leaving the two alone by the TV, Yu went pretty gloomy after that while Jiraiya thought she was overreacting.

"I think that might've kinda sorta been our fault." Yosuke stood up from the ground, becoming the fucking master of the art of understatement in one sentence, Yu turned his head to him with an unamused expression.

"M-Maybe we did go a little too far… Let's apologize to her tomorrow. I'm completely wiped out… I'm gonna go home, soak in the shower for a while, and get some sleep. I think… I'm gonna sleep well tonight. Hehe… Well, see you in the morning!" Yosuke quickly got out of there to not be scolded by his new friend as he sensed uneasiness from him.

"Calm down…" Izanagi told Yu, sensing that he was a little uneasy about their friend.

"It feels different this time when its someone I really care about crying out of worry for me, yeah I know it's not Yosuke's fault. I hope he gets along with Jiraiya again at least…" Yu tells his persona honestly, he feels tired.

"Let's go home, thou must take a rest for a bit." Izanagi tells him as he makes his way out of Junes.

* * *

[Samegawa Flood plain, After School]

Yu with Izanagi in mind, was walking slowly on the path near Samegawa river. Still bummed, Yu was without an umbrella and it was still raining heavily after school. The rain poured down on Yu but it seemed to not even bother him in the least. He then realizes this is the part where he meets Yukiko in a kimono because she's filling in for her mom at the inn they run, she was sitting on a bench table under a wooden shelter off to the side of the path he was walking on, it seemed she was watching the rain calmly by herself, Yu was planning on saving her with the others at a much sooner pace than before.

"Hm…?" A curious Yukiko notices a drenched sad looking boy who looks a lot like the transfer student who hits on her friend a lot. Yu sees Yukiko and walks over to her, partly to get out of the rain and another to talk a bit as this happened before.

"Oh… are you surprised to see me dressed this way? My parents sent me out on an errand." Yukiko tells him, he sat beside her, he seemed oddly quiet.

"Um… Are you getting used to your new town and school?" Yukiko found the silence a little weird.

"I like it here… It's certainly the most exciting place I've ever lived." Yu perks up and tells her honestly with a smile, he tries not to be so bummed out for the talk with Yukiko.

"Really...? But… It must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school…Oh! Are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave early, so… Umm…" Yukiko wondered if her friend had showed the new boy around the town, thinking it was like a "date" between them ironically given her blindness to these kinds of things.

"We're getting along…" Yu states to her with a nice tone, though he seemed to worry that Chie may not talk to him anymore because who really knows about these strange changes happening over time, he wanted to chat with Igor about it.

"Thou need to relax…" Izanagi was blunt to his user in mind.

"I'm glad to hear that. Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes." Yukiko's eyes seem to remember those times fondly; she was then reminded of something she need to do urgently and needed to leave.

"Oh… I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now. Um… I'll see you at school, then." Yukiko got up from her spot and gave a small smile and wave to him, she opened her red umbrella and walked away from the shelter, leaving Yu alone by himself or so she thought.

"Now we got to watch out for the news about her, let's go…" Yu got up from his spot and started back up on the rainy path, He began thinking more about strategies against hers and Chie's other selves.

"I hope Tomoe and Konohana don't say anything too mean to me." Izanagi worried about them equally, seeing them as "good friends," The Persona wanted to partake in saving all of them.

"Don't worry about it, Izanagi… Jiraiya will be there too." Yu was being comforting to him in a way.

"Oh yes, good point. But still…" Izanagi tells him as they walked home.

* * *

[Yosuke Hanamura's bachelor pad aka his family home, late in the Evening]

As Yosuke got back to his family's nice home and having been exhausted by today's events, he keeps true to his word. He undressed himself and got into the hot shower in his room (He has a goddamn shower in his room because he's a rich kid.)

"Geez… I didn't think something like that would happen… man that was really embarrassing…" A naked Yosuke says out loud to himself as water from the shower head poured down on his head and bare back, he began thinking.

"Saki-Senpai… did you really think I was annoying?" A now sad naked Yosuke says again to himself…he stood quiet and unmoving leaning his head against the wall to the side of the shower head, he was sorrowful for his coworker and friend. He then realized he had forgotten something for his shower time.

"Dammit… I forgot my gel." A now annoyed naked Yosuke comments to himself alone or so he thinks.

As he turned around from the wall and pulls the shower curtain off to the side, he notices a tall figure holding his shower gel right in front of him.

"Here You go!" A gleeful Jiraiya says to his butt naked user, he held out the gel to him. Yosuke's face was so shocked and speechless at the sight of his recently achieved Persona.

"…"

"…" Yosuke was without words despite his mouth being agape, he felt like saying something to the figure but he was nervous, Jiraiya wanted to surprise him first this way since Izanagi had already introduced himself to his user in the past cycle.

"U-Um…" Yosuke was trying to speak in astonishment until his Persona gestured with a finger to his mouth.

"Hush! …Don't speak out loud, or else your parents are gonna think you're a naked weirdo talking to himself." Jiraiya says in a loud whisper to him, he takes his user's hand and places the gel into it.

"I'll be waiting in your room for us to chat! My name's Jiraiya by the way!" A cheerful Jiraiya says in a suddenly loud tone of voice as he walks out of the bathroom waving off to his user, Yosuke watches him leave, his expression was that of amazement and fear as he didn't know if others could hear the strange being, he quickly showered so he could ask some questions he had for his Persona.

After a while…

"So…you're me?" A sitting legs crossed Yosuke asks his Persona from the opposite side of the small black table in the middle of his room. His Persona was sitting the same way with his arms folded imitating his user, he stared quietly at him.

"…" The Persona turned his head from Yosuke slowly and began staring at a pinup of a bikini girl on his user's wall behind the TV set, Jiraiya remembered how it looked like.

"H-Hey!" Yosuke didn't want his Persona getting any funny ideas.

"… She's hot." Jiraiya spoke his mind still staring at the pinup as Yosuke began cringing at what he just said.

"…also I forgot, try speaking to me with your mind to avoid any awkward moments." Jiraiya forgot to tell him that, he faced him.

"Oh, Ah…how's this?" A curious Yosuke begin thinking out to him.

"There you go!" Jiraiya happily gave him a thumbs up.

"S-So, Are you really me?" Yosuke wanted to make sure that this superhero-looking figure was him in a way.

"Yeah, like I told you before, I'm you and you're me... I am your façade to overcome life's hardships, The Persona…Jiraiya!" He shouted that last part enthusiastically for his user with fist to the air, Yosuke found what he said strange.

"Huh… what do you mean?" Yosuke wondered to him, he thought he looked pretty cool though.

"To put it simply… I'm those repressed feelings you have but they are tamed now inside your mind, and since that's the case now… Use me to find out who killed those two people in the TV world…oh and don't worry I'll protect you from any "monsters." Jiraiya answered his question a little bluntly, he teased his easily scared user playfully.

"Okay, I trust you and I hope we can avenge them… so why do you look like that?" Yosuke's eyes wondered around the figure.

"Alright, first off, I have a long red scarf because you think its super cool looking, this white 70's disco outfit with camo sleeves I have is from your love of western music and basically because you're a boy. My head looks a lot like one of those DJs you always listen to… The big gold metallic "V" on my chest is something you thought a super hero would wear and the ninja stars screwed onto my hands and face represent the times you played ninja in your backyard... as a kid." Jiraiya the anthropomorphic frog gestured all over himself, telling what he wears is from Yosuke's hobbies.

"Wow…" Yosuke was amazed that this cool looking guy was his personality given form.

"Yeah, that's what I got for ya." Jiraiya spoke in a nice tone to him, he really enjoyed and missed his personal time with Yosuke before Teddie and Kintoki came along.

"Why is your name Jiraiya? Wait… are you actually Jiraiya!?" Yosuke wanted to know more about his Persona despite it getting late, he heard of Jiraiya the legendary folklore ninja was seen as a hero in their culture.

"Yes, that's me, I was a ninja who used shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. I was also the heir of a powerful clan and I had fell in love with a young maiden named Tsunade…she was really cute." Jiraiya spoke of his past life from memories he had... most of it was actually bullshit.

"W-Why are you my persona, Jiraiya? I didn't think you actually be him." Yosuke was really psyched about this though.

"Well, I'm you and him both in a way, my own spirit resonated with yours… I emerged from the sea of your soul to be transfigured from that repressed other half of you, I was able to become a Persona because you accepted that other half of yourself." Jiraiya state to his user.

"Wait, I just thought of something, could Yu's Persona talk to him too?" Yosuke had been lost in wonderland to even ask the most basic question first.

"Yeah, you could also talk to him in the same way you do with me." Jiraiya told him.

"Let's talk with Yu and his Persona tomorrow…WAIT, can people see you?" Yosuke was worried about that.

"Nope, only other persona users can see me and you can see theirs." Jiraiya tells him this fact.

"I wonder what Yu's persona is like…?" Yosuke would wait until tomorrow to know.

The two then started talking about "girls" until it was before midnight…

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

Yu arrived entered the Dojima family home, he slid the house's front door behind him and walked over to where Nanako was. She was sitting by the small table in the living room watch their TV set in the corner. Yu sat on the opposite side of table and watched some TV along with his small cousin, the news comes on. It was an update report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba. The news announced that at around 7:00 A.M., a local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area. the body was found hanging like the last victim, and since it was Saki who discovered that body… Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The coroner's report has established her time of death at around 1:00 A.M. last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area. Yu's eyes went sorrowful, he was pained to know that he had to stand by and let it happen…

"Another incident… Dad won't be coming home tonight." Nanako turns toward Yu sadly from her spot.

"Nanako seems pretty worried." Izanagi sees from Yu's mind.

"I'm here with you." Yu perked up himself again and gave her a comforting smile despite knowing she was emotionally strong at times like this, he really appreciated her strong will despite the circumstances behind it, he plans on bringing the family together a lot sooner.

"I'll be okay. Can you help me do some stuff around the house?" Nanako asks her cousin politely, he nods to her in agreement.

"Nanako seems to be very reliable for her age, I always did admire that about her, she has more emotional strength than even most children I've seen." Izanagi speaks of a truth in the mind of his user, they continued watching TV. The news turns attention to the Amagi Inn, It was located upstream of Samegawa River, Yu learned before that it is the town's oldest historical landmark. Vacationers came to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs, Izanagi thought they were quite nice. After the incident with Ms. Yamano, Yukiko's mom who was the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes, Yu admitted in his mind that he feels that he can relate more to Yukiko's problem a little more now since his life now feels like it's on rails to a predestination because it kinda is. Yukiko herself is on TV, wearing the kimono she had by the river, it was pink. This reporter who came up to her was a real creep, by the way.

"In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school. Now that has a nice ring to it… Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!" The reporter calls out to the red girl who was caught off guard a little bit.

"Hm…? Um… Are you speaking to me?" Yukiko seemed unready for an interview.

"We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true that you're still in high school?" The almost obnoxious reporter spoke again to her.

"Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily…" Yukiko told the reporter honestly.

"Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors." The reporter seemed like he really wanted to know… Yu remembered that he was pretty off putting.

"Huh? No, um…" Yukiko stumbled abit. The reporter's rambling goes further and further off subject…

"…This is boring. Oh, I need to do the dishes…" Nanako commented, she gets up from the table and goes to the kitchen, Yu then gets up as well and does some cleaning while conversing with his little cousin.

"Any Ghosts around?" Yu asked almost sounding idly to her as she washed the dishes while he brooms the floor.

"N-No, nothing happened again…" Nanako admitted to him.

"Did they do anything bad to you that night…" Yu began wondering whether or not punish Jiraiya for that stunt he pulled.

"All the ghost did was pick me up like a baby and then let me down when I tried to see if you were talking to someone…were you speaking with them?" Nanako was a little more curious about them.

"Well, I was… we became good friends, I guess…" A gently smiling Yu referred to Izanagi, the persona seemed touched by him saying that.

"I hope I could talk to them too, one day …I want to be their friend, so I won't be scared anymore." Nanako tells Yu with a small smile as she finished the dishes and moved on.

"Maybe you will, who knows…" Yu tries to sound mindless to her as he brooms, he started thinking if Nanako and his persona could be friends in a way even if she wouldn't be able to see him, they finished cleaning and headed to their rooms.

* * *

[Yu Narukami's Room, Midnight]

"In other Inaba-related news, meteorologists are predicting heavy fog throughout the year. The region has seen an abnormal amount of fog over the past few years, and the cause of the climate change is unknown. Whatever the reason, residents of the Inaba area should be extra careful. Our broadcast tonight was extended to bring you up to date news on the incident in Inaba. The time is now midnight." Yu was looking out the window to see if it was still raining (which it was) as Izanagi instructed him to do so to be careful as always, the astral projection of the persona turned off the TV as the weather report finished up.

Yu walks up to his small TV set, he was beside Izanagi and looked into the screen, suddenly a rather fuzzy image appeared on the Midnight Channel, it was a young teenager girl in a pink kimono…it was obviously Yukiko. Yu sticks his hand to reach out to her like he did before.

"Now we talk with Yosuke and Chie tomorrow…we'll save her as soon as possible." Yu tells his persona who agreed with him, he pulls out his arm.

"Time for bed…" Izanagi goes into Yu's body and rests in his mind. Yu goes to set up his futon to sleep, he starts dreaming. The Fool then awakens inside the Velvet room and was again in the endless limo ride that represented his Journey, it had started up again.

"Welcome..." Igor greets Yu with Margaret by his side, she was looking through some paper work.

"Social Links…?" Yu remembered this talk with Igor.

"Social Links… Wild Card is powered by bonds… Persona, to control one's heart… you get the picture, my dear boy." Igor sums up quickly what he said before to his guest.

"What are you up to, Margaret?" Yu wondered about her as she was diligently looking through the stack of papers.

"I am trying to find where your Persona compendium is located at the Master's large book collection in his office…I will have it ready for you the next time; I promise…" Margaret looked like she had been looking for an eternity, she had a weak smile on her face to her guest.

"Please take your time, don't push yourself…" Yu sensed her plight, he faces toward Igor again.

"I think you may want this back…" Igor gestured to Yu's lap with a simple hand. The velvet key had suddenly appeared on the boy's knee. (whoa, that rhymed!)

"Oh, Thanks Igor…" Yu took the shining key and then put it into his pocket for safe keeping, he's going to need all the help he can get...

"Remember, your preferred destiny will require you to hone your power again, and for that, you will inevitably require our help once more. You must abide by your renewed contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make…even if doesn't lead to the real "truth."

"Any questions?" Igor asked if Yu wanted know anything else.

"Me and Izanagi have been seeing all sorts of changes in the way things are this time around, why is that?" Yu asked Igor from his seat.

"Like I said before, Time is like a calm river... the flow of certain events can be change... even without your input... though the changes you've seen so far gives us nothing to worry about at the moment." Igor tells him.

"Okay, now so about Philemon, why did he help my case?" Yu asks Igor curiously.

"The strong resolve of you and your companions to seek the truth was too much to go to waste, he saw the good of humanity in all of you." Igor tells him mostly truthful.

"And because he didn't want to lose his new bet with his counterpart…" an irritated Margaret was blunt, she was still looking through papers diligently.

"What? Is this all really a just game to them?" Yu didn't like the sound of this, he pondered about it.

"Philemon and the entity he opposes both see humanity from different points of view, they would even go as far to tip the scales in their own favor to win their side of the argument. They each genuinely believe humans have both the potential to become enlightened or ultimately destroy itself." Igor wanted to clear any misunderstanding his guest had.

"They won't interfere with your journey very much, but they will add their "special touches" as time goes on to even the score. If you happen to fall in your search or fail to save someone essential to you before the crucial moments of destiny happen, Philemon will be around to reset your day as long as you spot him, though he wishes you actually try not use him too much, he's counting on you and all to prove him right to his opposite." Igor tells Yu, shocking his guest as he had nothing to worry about…

"There is one thing, you can't tell anyone that you're from the future or Philemon will count that as a fail and reset the day in addition…" Margaret adds to their conversation.

"What! Why?!" Yu really didn't want to be isolated from his friends mentally, this whole thing made him feel somewhat alone.

"It would be considered cheating…now time to sleep, we will talk again if this still troubles you." Igor speaks lastly to his guest.

"Okay…I won't fail you all this time." Yu shook himself from the utter news of being stuck like this and renewed his determination, he was dismissed from the Velvet room, being waved off by Igor and Margaret though she was still looking through the paper work.

* * *

Author's notes: Oh gosh, this was the longest fucking day to write ever but don't worry the next chapters are already in the works. To AC, if you want to know anything I plan to do, just send a review oh and please report any errors to me in any way you can.

Remember Marie? Does anyone not like her for the story? if you do then voice to me if you want to se her in the story.

Side notes for future chapters:

-Jiraiya will beg Izanagi not to tell Konohana what he said.

-Dominatrix Banana Head will share her view on her user and Yu's relationship with her in the past.

-The Reaper's plan will come to fruition in the castle.

-Jiraiya will bicker with the boss that's symbolic for Yukiko as they fight.


	13. Chapter 13

Case: Yukiko Amagi (Part II)/Some Revelations: Persona – Chapter 13

{April 16, 2011} {Rainy, but for some reason it was cloudy in the morning}

[Samegawa Floodplain, Early Morning]

Yu was walking along the same old path to Yasogami High School with other students before it started raining for the day, the grey-haired boy was talking with his persona as they walked.

"Geez, we were really scared to mess up in the beginning, Huh?" Yu told the Japanese God in a relieved manner.

"Hmm, yes but it's not like we could really change anything that happened before, Igor did mention about the "flow" of "certain events" which could mean even if we try and change something like Konishi-san's death, it will eventually happen anyway…so we are still stuck on on a one-way road that may have split paths near the end of our Journey." Izanagi told his user in mind, a little bummed out.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that…but what about the changes we've seen? Did you see anything I didn't?" Yu asked his Persona.

"Now that thou mention it, I did feel some changes in the Midnight Channel, it was a pretty terrifying presence." A wondering Izanagi told his user what he sensed while in the TV World.

"Hmm, I-I wonder if this world has real changes in it." Yu would see through his own words later…he seems to be a little nervous about it.

"Now, wait a minute… I do seem to recall something odd about the first night here… at the shrine, remember when thou ordered us Aiya's Food?" Izanagi sounded like he was pondering.

"Yeah, I remembered I was trying to sleep…what about it?" Yu asked his Persona perplexed as to why he brought this up.

"I apologize, but when the food came to us…it was delivered by a young blue haired girl about Thy age…it seemed that she worked there before thou came and went to thy school because of the clothes she had on with a red apron, I don't remember her from the many times we've been at that place, Do thou?" Izanagi found that odd, it was strange for her to just leave food "unattended."

"Really? That's strange… no, I would have seen her in the restaurant and the Aiya owner would have at least mentioned a girl working there because of all the times I've came to them to complete their challenge." Yu told his persona, this was pretty different to be sure… as Yu and Izanagi pondered on about the mysterious Aiya girl (this one minor cameo…really), Yosuke came up on his yellow bike to Yu with an astral projection of Jiraya floating right next to him.

"Hey Yu, What's up!" Yosuke had a big smile on his face this morning, it seemed that he was excited about his new power, Jiraiya was right behind him.

"Oh, Yosuke...uh who's he?" Actor Yu Narukami thinking out to Yosuke with his mind, looking over at Jiraiya who was dumbfounded by Yu not knowing him but then realized he had to play along with Yu since he everything as well.

"Oh uh, howdy…" Jiraiya gave a wave to Yu awkwardly, they began walking alongside each other to school, Yosuke walking his bike and spoke.

"This is my persona, Jiraiya! Isn't he the coolest!" Yosuke thought out to Yu cheerfully, it seemed he was very happy with the Frog Ninja.

"So, uh…where's yours?" Yosuke looked around himself curiously, he then faced toward Yu.

"In my mind…" Yu told him with a smile and gestured to his head, Izanagi was there.

"Whoa, Jiraiya…can you get inside my mind too?" A wondering Yosuke asked his persona in question.

"Yeah, I can…it's mostly for not distracting you from your friends… plus people can't hear our dirty thoughts." Jiraiya told his curious user, the last part quietly.

"Can you bring him out? Me and Jiraiya would like to meet him in person…" Yosuke stopped walking and asked Yu politely with some eagerness mixed in, Izanagi appeared behind Yu and towered over him with his tall figure. Izanagi looked towards Yosuke and then to Jiraiya.

"Pleasure to meet You both, Yosuke-san and Jiraiya… I am Izanagi, Yu's Persona." Izanagi bowed respectfully to the two, playing along with his user and Yosuke's Persona.

"Whoa, he looks like kinda like one of those delinquent gang leaders, were you a bad boy before you cleaned up, buddy?" Yosuke teased Yu playfully as Izanagi began looking and touching all over himself nervously after Yosuke said that to him, the Persona wanted to represent his user's personality in the most graceful manner.

"Nah, but now that you mention it, I was a leading a bunch of misfits all over the place in the past." Yu told his Junes friend who didn't knew what he really meant thankfully. Yu was referring to the old team fondly, in a way he missed them as if they were different people…Yu and Yosuke began talking about last night.

"O-Oh, Izanagi mind if we have a friendly chat too? Y-You know…since we're working together with our users…" Jiraiya seemed nervous talking to Yu's persona.

"Ah, sure I would be glad to…" The mischievous Izanagi knew why Jiraiya was so flustered for some reason, they left their two users to talk and went off the path onto the grass.

"So, you saw what was on last night, right? I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown on TV, we can't ignore it... Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something. If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims…If someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable. We need to find the culprit… no matter what it takes! There's no way the police can do it… Who'd believe that the murderer kills people by throwing them into the TV?" Yosuke tells Yu as their personas were having their own conversation in the meantime.

"I want to keep my word to Teddie too, you know." It seems that Yu was fonder of the bear than he lets on to his buddy.

"Totally, a promise is a promise… You know, I tried sticking my head inside the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because I have the same power…Persona... Could it be that we got these gifts from someone specifically so we could solve this case? Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first… I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case…Well, let's do our best!" Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yu sees that Yosuke is trying his hardest to move on… he senses a faint stirring of friendship between him and Yosuke…the two friends shook hands in partnership.

" **Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana."**

Izanagi peered out from Jiraiya's side to observe Yu's bond with his friend Yosuke, he spoke with enthusiasm.

"You know; you don't have to do that every time Yu makes a bond…well now anyways." Jiraiya telling Izanagi to save him time in the future.

"*Sighs* It's a force of habit, my friend." Izanagi admits to him tiredly.

"Huh, Magician?" Yosuke was perplexed by what Yu's Persona said.

"It's the "tarot" card you have, number 1… it's also the same one you use to summon me." Jiraiya explained to his user in the middle of his talk with Izanagi.

"Huh, I didn't know… Yosuke: The Magician, I kinda like the sound of that!" Yosuke examined his title thoughtfully.

"Well, what's yours, Yu?" Yosuke wondered about his pal's.

"My card is The Fool…it's number is 0…" Yu tells Yosuke about his Tarot, though he didn't tell him about the wild card ability that comes with it, maybe because Yosuke would be jealous, I don't know.

"Man, it's time for us to shine as heroes Yu! Come on guys!" Yosuke called out to the personas, he was pretty pumped up and started the walking path again with Yu.

"We'll catch up to you guys, we're still talking!" A seemingly calm Jiriaya gestures for the boys to go on ahead. He returns his attention to Izanagi who looked pretty gleeful now.

"Please don't tell Konohana what I said, I'm begging you partner!" The seemingly calm Jiraiya broke down in embarrassment planting his hands on Izanagi's shoulders with his head down to him.

"I was kidding; I don't want this to ruin our friendship, you know." Izanagi told his friend honestly, looking down at him with a nice tone.

"But I have to admit, the idea of you guys together is pretty amusing…" Izanagi chuckled heartily to Jiraiya as The Frog Ninja began to cringe.

"Please stop… it's embarrassing…how did you guess?" Jiraiya spoke weakly and a little sad.

"I read about a relationship in one of Yu's books that was a lot like yours and Konohana's between two of the characters in that book. They were a lot like you guys in personality, so I assumed there was an attraction between you two… though I never thought I was going to be right." Izanagi seemed a little excited about it, this worried Jiraiya.

"Are you kidding me, again?!" Jiraiya seemed bummed about that fact, Izanagi then wrapped his arm around Jiraiya's neck in a friendly way.

"Don't worry, I'll help you woo that fiery maiden friend of ours…" Izanagi was confident about this "ship" …wait I mean pairing up his friends! Shit, that's the same thing!

"What do you know about romance?" A skeptical yet sad looking Jiraiya to his leader and shipper on deck.

"I use to be married once, remember? Though I stopped thinking about intimacy for a long time… so I apologize if I'm a little rusty with love." Izanagi admitted this to Jiraiya, the frog ninja looked at him, with the way he sounded, Izanagi didn't seem to have any hard feelings about it…at all.

"Married? Seriously?" A non-believing Jiraiya seemed to forgotten this one fact about his partner, nobody payed attention to that lecture in the Tatsumi port Island trip apparently.

"That's in the past now…and besides I promised Yu to be more aware of the feelings of others." Izanagi told his partner in a calm tone.

"So, how do you feel about Tomoe?" Jiraiya wanted to know about this since he said that...

"Tomoe…I'm not sure to be honest, though when we parted ways, I did feel something for her but I don't know what it is…" Izanagi pondered in wonder to Jiraiya.

"Hmm, Let's go catch up with our users… buddy, we don't want to miss school." Jiraiya was a little amused by Izanagi's statement, and began making his way to them beside an unsure Izanagi.

* * *

[Classroom 2-2, Early Morning still…it was finally rainy]

Yu was at his desk with a standing Yosuke right by him, they were idling talking about various things while both their respective Personas were in the mind of their users, suddenly the sliding door of the classroom flew open with a nervous Chie running inside. She made her way urgently to them as they looked up at her, something was a foot!

"Uh… Chie, Um… About yesterday… We're sorry we worried you…" Both Yosuke and Yu looked apologetic for her, she was looking around for someone.

"Never mind that. Is Yukiko still not here?" Chie sounded worried about her best friend in fear that she was missing, Yu understood her fear but couldn't tell her anything in order to not seem suspicious.

"Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh… no…? At least, I haven't seen her today." Yosuke was a little confused as to why she asked all of sudden.

"Oh man… What should I do…? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know… All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world." Chie seemed stressed about it, Yu kept himself quiet to let Yosuke explain to her about that.

"Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later-" Yosuke quickly responds to her question calmly.

"The person on TV yesterday… I think it was Yukiko." Chie spoke, truly shocking only Yosuke as Yu already knew what's going to happen to their friend and they would eventually rescue her from there but he couldn't tell Chie so she could calm down, it pained him to just stand by.

"That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too. I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded…I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today…I-I…" An unsteady Chie went quiet, her eyes filled with worry for her best friend.

"Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?" Yosuke was trying to calm her a bit to focus on what do.

"No…" Chie quickly responded, she went quiet again, it was Yu's turn to say something.

"We saw Yukiko on the TV too…" Yu spoke in a calm tone to her, he knew he wasn't helping by telling her this.

"What's that supposed to mean…? Wait, are you saying… Yukiko was thrown in there!?" Chie was about to panic until Yosuke spoke up.

"We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first. Give her another call." Yosuke told her, she nodded and did what he suggested. she took out her phone to call her.

"No good… Her voicemail picked up…She's not answering…" Chie was on the phone, She was starting to panic more.

"Are you serious…? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place…?" Yosuke was only making it worse by saying something like this.

"Jus-S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something… Oh, or she might be helping at the inn… She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it…" Chie gestured with arms anxiously at Yosuke to stop that.

"Yeah, but would she skip school for that?" Yosuke had a point…sort of.

"W-Well, I'll give the inn a call… Umm… I've got the number here somewhere…C'mon, Yukiko… Pick up…" Chie got on the phone again, the others waited for the call.

"Oh, is this Yukiko!? …Thank god she's there!" Chie was relieved to hear her friend's voice and told the two friends facing her, to Chie…she was safe and sound, she then got on the phone again.

"Uh-huh… Uh-huh, I see…Hm? Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later…" Chie stopped worrying about Yukiko, she put away her phone.

"*sigh * She was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah… Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too." She had a bright smile on for two boys but Yu knew this was only the beginning of something more terrible for the two girls, but he knew he could help them out when the time comes.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine! And you were all "Is Yukiko-san inside that place…?" Hmph…" Chie stood up to Yosuke and yelled at him for making her worry over nothing, Yu admitted to himself that Chie was a little right to say that to Yosuke for making her panic unintentionally, but then again he knew she was testing fate.

"S-Sorry… But there is a reason we thought that." Yosuke felt pretty bad, but he was telling the truth also.

"Oh yeah…? What?" A skeptical Chie in reply to him.

"Well…we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in the TV world. I mean, it makes sense, right? People show up on the TV because they're inside the TV… But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about. Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school." Yosuke tells her and so the trio decide to make their way to Yosuke's place right after class. Yu stood up from his desk followed his two friends out of the classroom, He walked beside Chie to speak to her for a bit.

"Hey, Chie…" Yu spoke to her in an apologetic tone as they walked down the school stairs, they were behind Yosuke who was eavesdropping on them with an amused expression facing down the stairs.

"Yeah…?" Chie looked up at him to see what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, I knew that it was a dumb thing to do and leave you to be worried and angry at us, but I needed to do this for him, I hope you can understand why…" A sorry looking Yu looked down to her as they reached the bottom floor.

"I'm not angry…but please don't do that to me again, I mean… if something were to happen to you guys, I wouldn't know what to think… I would be sad." Chie admits to him in gentle tone, Yu looked down to her with a small grin and determined eyes.

"Well, if anything happens from now on...bI'll be there to help stop it, okay?" Yu tells her with some confidence in his voice, she looks up at him with surprise.

"…Thanks, Yu-kun." Chie sees his confidence and appreciated the support, she gave a bright smile to the tall silver haired boy. The duo's personas were following them and also observed the pair.

"Oh dear…Yu couldn't let that go despite knowing what's going to happen…" A tired Izanagi tried to tell him that everything would be fine with Chie, he was speaking with Jiraiya who responded.

"What can you say, that's a lady killer in love…" Jiraiya had a point and gestured to the boy, he told Izanagi with him agreeing to that. The group made their way out the school grounds to Junes on this rainy day, Jiraiya had something on his mind that bothered a bit.

"I don't know how to say this but... do you think Chie-san sound's different, you know from before?" Jiraiya pointed out to his buddy Izanagi.

"Hmm… yes, though Yu doesn't seem to notice at all…" Izanagi observed his user from a distance, they continued walking.

* * *

[Junes department store, After school]

The trio arrived at Junes, they were in the electronics section around the same flat screen TV they fell into, they were talking amongst themselves. Yu was explaining to Chie how he fought tongue monsters with a golf club courageously inside The TV World to protect a scared Yosuke and Teddie.

"O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades." Yosuke was embarrassed by Yu saying all that, Jiraiya comforted him in mind.

"If I hadn't seen the place first hand… I'd never have believed a story like that." Chie Admitted to the two of them.

"Yeah, no kidding. Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside-" Yosuke tells Chie, he looks around and sees customers around them.

"Wh-How? By talking to that Teddie guy?" Chie was unsure about this.

"Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around… I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today…I got it! C'mere a sec." Yosuke got an idea, he went to the left side of the flat screen and called over Yu who was a little reluctant to walk over to him as he knows what's gonna happen, Izanagi was walking him through the process like a child getting his first shot.

"Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway. Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me." Yosuke called over Chie to stand on the right side of the TV so no one could see what they were about to do…Yu dreaded this a little as it actually did hurt when Teddie bit him in last cycle but he couldn't refuse Yosuke.

"A wall?" Chie made her way to the other side of the flat screen. A fearful Yu took a step in the middle of the human wall and placed his hand on the surface of TV and then it phased through…he beckoned Teddie over and then…

*CHOMP!*

Yu yelped and pulled his hand out of the TV screen and rubbed it in sharp pain after Teddie bit him, Yu held a tear in the corner of his left eye, that really hurt…

"Wh-What's wrong!?" Yosuke asked his buddy unknowingly, Yu looked over to the Junes boy with a half glare, he was still rubbing his hand, Jiraiya chuckled quietly in Yosuke's mind.

"Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot! D-Dude, is that a bite mark!? Are you okay!?" Chie yelled at Yosuke angrily for being loud and then looked over at the silver haired boy with a worried expression.

"I think I'm gonna to cry…" Yu told her with the tear still held up in a corner of his eye, he admitted the pain to Chie this time around, last time…he feigned that it didn't hurt in the past cycle.

"Ohh C'mon, don't cry… Sheesh that stupid bear must've done it… Hey, you! We know you're in there!" a soft Chie comforted him and began yelling in anger at the baer (not a typo) for doing this to her friend, it slightly warmed Yu's heart to see this.

"Ooh ooh, is this a game?" an amused Teddie spoke out from the other side of the TV, he speech was distorted slightly, sounding like he was on a microphone.

"No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?" Yosuke asked Teddie seriously.

"Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-ren…" Teddie had lots of time to make bear puns since he was alone most of the time in the beginning, Yu knew this was the very start of a trend.

"Oh my Messiah… this is where it happens…" A surprised Izanagi forgot where Teddie first made bear puns.

"Shut it!" Chie wasn't amused by the bear's joke.

"So there's no one inside…? You're sure?" Chie asked the bear curiously.

"I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!" Teddie told her in reply, he went away for some reason. (he was still conversing with the friendly shadow about plans)

"…I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway. Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still…" Chie was still worried for her…Yu turned his body towards the kung-fu loving girl from the TV, he was still rubbing the hand.

"Yeah… You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?" Yosuke tells Chie this suggestion.

"Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house." Chie agrees with him, Yosuke turns to Yu for something.

"Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel. Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding…What's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight." Yu and Yosuke exchange numbers by putting their phones in front of each other to scan, right after doing so they put their phones away.

"Let's watch the Midnight channel again tonight…" Izanagi tells Yu in mind, a bit redundant as…

"Alright, don't forget to watch tonight." Yosuke tells them, the three (plus two) nodded in agreement and walked out of Junes and went back their to homes.

* * *

 _[Near Yamano crime scene, Evening]_

It was dark and rainy out, Detective and father Ryotaro Dojima was standing in the middle of the intersection holding a black umbrella with blazer over his shoulder, he was thinking deeply about the murders going on… an officer in uniform passes him by to get to a squad car parked near another pair of police officers. A young detective with a white umbrella ran up to his older partner.

"Looks like we've found all we're gonna find here. And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect." Adachi tells his partner in the force.

"We don't even know if this is a homicide." Dojima tells a fact of the case to him.

"Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!" Adachi argues under his umbrella, seriously.

"…I know." Dojima replies to him followed by a sigh, he turns his body away from Adachi.

"We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it…  
If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp. But if that's true… what the hell is going on?" Dojima ponders more about the murders to his younger detective friend.

"You know, I thought at first that this all spun out of that love triangle." Adachi suggests this to him, Dojima turns his body to face him again.

"No. That singer-Misuzu Hiiragi-has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it. And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Hiiragi herself broke it to the media. No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind." Dojima tells him the facts.

"Got a point there…" Adachi admits this to his smart cop buddy, Dojima shakes his head slightly.

"Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders. He's been working in the city for the past six months. Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident. There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died. And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making contact with Namatame before or after her disappearance…" Dojima tells him more facts.

"You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary. He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl." Adachi speaks of gossip with a small hint of enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I agree…Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi…She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse… But I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive. She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found… The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up but that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours." Doijma ponders once more under his umbrella.

"Yeah… I heard about that angle on the news, too." Adachi tells him this unknown fact.

"What!? Is the story about the inn out already?" Dojima was surprised by this info.

"Okay, I got it! How's this? Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew! And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!" Adachi tells him this…ironically, Dojima sighs at him, he turns around and walks to a corner where a streetlight was.

"…Either way, all we can do now is keep investigating anyone involved with the victims… Our perp… It has to be someone in Inaba." Ace detective Dojima tells him without looking at his face.

"Ooh, is your detective's intuition at work?" A grinning Adachi was a little sarcastic to the older cop. The young detective stood quiet with the grin quickly fading away from his face, his trademark bored eyes of dullness returned. Adachi turned his head and body over to look at a big wooden fence behind him… there stood a tall masked figure wearing a red long coat with a red headband leaning against it, his were arms folded and eyes closed shut.

"Patience… I know thou hates this more than me, no need to be upset…" Magatsu-Izanagi awoke and looked over to Adachi to soothed his user's frustration, he spoke with a deep baritone.

"I'm gonna have to talk it out with that dumbass kid to not screw this up… Shit, why did I get myself dragged into this mess?" Adachi eyes tensed in anger, the detective and serial killer complained in his mind to the persona about being stuck in the same situation with the brat he hated the most from that bunch.

"Hmm… thou knows why…" Magatsu tells Adachi earnestly, there was a small silence between them.

"Now, I wonder what the other version of me is like… we never formally met each other… though, it irks me a little to see that they were able to best us in battle despite being much weaker." Magatsu wondered a bit peeved at his user, they stood in the rain for a while.

"Don't blame me for losing to those brats…" Adachi did nothing wrong… I'm just going to leave that there.

* * *

[Dojima residence, Midnight]

Yu and Izanagi had arrived home to a greeting Nanako and headed up towards their room. Yu was checking the window to see it was still raining, while Izanagi in astral projection mode made sure the TV was completely off, Yu walked over beside him to face the TV set, the clock in the room was ticking loudly and then suddenly…static showed on the screen, then there was a clear image of a smiling Yukiko in a bright pink princess dress complete with pink microphone. She was standing in front of a large brown castle where the same red and black vortex door appeared in front of it.

"Man, I remembered how weirded out I was when I first saw this…" Yu reminiscences this bit with his Persona, the god also agreed.

"Yes quite…" Izanagi watched along with Yu.

"Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise-I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to "Not a Dream, Not a Hoax"-Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming! And I came prepared: I've got my lacy unmentionables on, and I'm stacked from top to bottom! I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine! Well-here I goooo!" Princess Yukiko showed her cleavage window to the TV for all to see and then proceeded to touch with her hand to where her undergarments were in a sultry manner, the camera captured everything pretty well according to Yosuke and Jiraiya's dirty minds… they all watched Yukiko run towards the castle in her pink dress but then suddenly… she turned back to face the camera or whatever.

"I do have my eye on a certain someone and I hope he could come to be my prince!" Princess Yukiko blew a kiss and a wink to where Izanagi would be standing to face his TV screen, she then continued to the castle cheerfully.

"Oh, That's right…I promised her that…but how did she know where I would be standing." Izanagi was starting to notice the attention he gets from the feminine Personas; he knew this was just going to get weirder.

"It'll be okay… Yosuke's gonna call any minute now." Yu comforted him and pulled out his phone, sure enough Yosuke came calling on the phone.

"H-Hey, did you see that!? That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her, and I mean, she even said her name! But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!? And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show… Was it like this before, too? What's going on…?" Yosuke couldn't fathom what he just saw on his TV, Jiraiya was shouting about Yukiko indiscreetly in the background of Yosuke's room. The Frog Ninja sounded like he was eager to face their friend again as an enemy, this was not going to go well at all in Izanagi's mind.

"Calm down you guys… Yosuke, try to contact Chie." Yu told them in composed tone.

"Y-You're right! Let's get her to contact Yukiko-san! Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!" Yosuke hangs up with Yu putting away his phone for the night.

"Time for bed…I hope Jiraiya doesn't do anything crazy." Izanagi tells his user as the Silver haired boy makes his way to the futon to sleep in, Izanagi fades back into Yu's body.

"Don't worry about that now… I wonder if I can get closer to Yosuke with a dream." Yu was under his sheets and laid his head on the small pillow and closed his eyes, he fell asleep.

"I hope it doesn't get any weirder…" Izanagi admitted in Yu's mind.

* * *

{ **Yu Narukami's Bizarre Dream Adventure part 1** }

…Yu awakes in the dream; he finds himself inside the driver's seat of a black colored family car in front of an elementary school somewhere in dream Inaba. It was a sunny day out with no clouds in the sky and seemed it was that time for the kids to come out for the day.

"What the…?" Yu sees himself slightly older looking in the rearview mirror, he was also wearing a tie and clean shirt…kinda like a father would wear.

"My, this is already very weird…" Izanagi observes his user's change of appearance as a voice from the sky.

"Izanagi?" Yu gets out of the family car and walks across the road to the sidewalk in front of the school, he looks up to his persona's sky voice.

"I will be here to commentate on your journey in this dream world." Izanagi tells his user from above, The Japanese God seems to know what's gonna happen to Yu in the dreams...

"Like a guide?" A perplexed Yu asked him, still looking up.

"Sort of…just watch." Izanagi tells his unknowing user of what's to come, Yu looks over at the school's front doors and suddenly the bell rings out indicating the end of the day, dozens of children poured out into the walkway to go home, Yu noticed a little boy child about Nanako's age wearing a notably small orange sweatshirt, the boy was running to him with his hood on.

"HEY DAD!" The boy says in a very young sounding voice excitedly to Yu who stood confused by what the boy said.

"Uh… Son?" A weirded out Yu says to the boy in reply, "Yu's son" came up to him and stood still in front of his "dad", Yu lowers himself to the boy's level and pushes his hood back to see his face… needless to say Yu was horrified to see… it was a cute kid version of YOSUKE!

"Oh dear…" Izanagi spoke out at the sight of him, he cringed a bit.

"What's with that face, dad?" A cute smiling kid Yosuke asking his father Yu who was still in shock… suddenly… The silver haired boy's body shot up and he woke from the nightmare in a cold sweat. Yu was taking deep breaths to calm down from seeing something like that, he was relieved it was just a dream.

"God… that was so awkward and surreal… I think I'm closer to him now…" Yu in between breaths, his persona appears and pats him softly on the back.

"Oh… I knew it would be something like that." Izanagi speaks out lastly to his user, a tired Yu dropped back on his bed and fell asleep again for the night.

* * *

Author's Notes: I am sorry that this took longer than usual but it's lot longer for story because of it. To Ac, if you want the ship to sail quicker just tell me what you would want the interactions to between them in the dungeon, because the way I planned it...it's gonna take a while. Another Question by the way! should Minako and Minato be fraternal twins or not be related at all? Please review to me! Oh, and thanks for reading so far!

Info: Aika nakamura was never in the original ps2 release but in the anime for it, though she is mentioned in the Golden release and in addition to that I'm not gonna force Marie into every scene she was not in like the anime because the focus of this is not her, and to me it was one of the most forced things ever for Atlus to do, but this does not mean I dislike Marie at all.

Side Notes for future chapters:

-Multiple Personas Yu can use will be included in story battles like I said they will have personalities.

-Why Does Adachi remember? ...Stay tune!

-Yu will meet the Tsundere Goddess and her so "bad it's good but eh" poetry, Izanagi would see her as a little unnerving for some reason.

-Igor will explain about the Reaper's history in the next visit and why Marie's there.

Random notes:

-Originally in the initial draft of the remake, I was going to include a love conflict between Yu, Chie, and Naoto but I scrapped it because the detective prince gets in way later in the story and it would feel unnatural.


	14. Chapter 14

Case: Yukiko Amagi (Part III)/ "A new FRIEND!" - Chapter 14

{April 17, 2011} {Sunny}

[Dojima Residence, Early Morning]

Yu and Izanagi got up in the morning hours after a rough night of being Yosuke's parents. The young wild card headed down the stairs after getting dressed, and after reaching the bottom he walked a bit inside the kitchen to see Nanako by the living room table with the TV remote and a cold juice drink.

"Oh Good Morning…" Nanako lifts her head to get greet him, he took a step in the room before heading out to meet up with Yosuke and Jiraiya.

"You're up early…" Yu yawned a bit as he was kind of tired still, Izanagi appeared behind him and began watching the two closely.

"My dad woke up early, so I woke up with him." Nanako tells him, she then notices his appearance, though he looked kinda exhausted to be going out.

"Are you going somewhere? I'll be fine by myself." Nanako was pretty mature for her age, Yu really appreciated that when he needed to run around Inaba for all sorts of reasons. Nanako takes up the remote and turns the TV on in the corner, a weather report indicates "sunny weather" for a while... Yu was standing still for some reason.

"Oh, the sun's gonna come out. I should do some laundry. Uh...Weren't you going somewhere?" A curious Nanako noticed that Yu's eyes were closed and he was breathing quietly, it appeared that he fell asleep while standing up, a calm Izanagi then bonked his user's head lightly with a quick hand chop as they had plans for today after all.

"H-Huh?!" A sleep deprived Yu was startled a bit by his Persona's actions. Nanako giggled a bit at his expense.

"Your ghost friend doesn't want you to miss anything, it's okay...you can go." Nanako observed him and the friendly ghost she couldn't see with a small smile.

"Thanks, I'll be back later, okay?" Yu tells her despite already knowing she can take care of the house. He then heads to the front entrance of the home as Nanako continues watching TV.

"Thou should be prepared, why not have a drink on the way to meet Yosuke…" Izanagi was looking out for his user thoughtfully.

"Yeah good Idea, we have a long day ahead of us and we'll meet with Igor right after… so maybe we could talk more about the journey." Yu and Izanagi got outside the home and headed up the drive way to Yosuke's place.

* * *

[June's Food Court, Daytime]

Yu was waiting at the round table where he and the team held meetings to talk about the murders in the past…or the future, I don't really care which at this point. He was having a drink while idling talking with Izanagi right beside him as they waited for Yosuke and Jiraiya to arrive. The Junes boy with headphones around his neck and the Frog Ninja following him appeared on the court, Yosuke walked toward the silver haired boy with his hands behind his back, holding something that'll eventually get them arrested…Yu wondered if this part was actually necessary.

"Sorry for the holdup. I found some stuff we can use in the closet at home...Take a look at these!" An excited Yosuke shows his buddy a Katana and a knife in public as a woman sitting nearby begins to stare nervously at the two of them.

"We've got our Personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon. So, which one strikes your fancy?" Yosuke asks his friend with a smile on his face, Jiraiya observes the two amused as he knows where this is going, Izanagi didn't see what was wrong in the first time… in the old days, people carried all sorts of weapons for many reasons, though he knows the times have changed a lot since.

"The katana." Yu tells him honestly; he also felt about telling him to put those away quickly as he sensed the police would be arriving soon.

"Ahh, you've got discerning taste. This is a Junes exclusive. The blade's fake, though...As for me...Wait, maybe both would be good, too." Just as Yosuke said that, Yu realized he could had that fake sword when was fighting his partner's shadow…there were lots of things on his journey to take a second look at the logic of everything.

"K-Kinda like this!? Or like this!?" What about this? How do I look?" Yosuke asked his partner, striking many silly action poses with the weapons like a "cool hero man would." Yu and Izanagi were getting kind of nervous while Jiraiya had gleeful look toward his awkward user.

"You look good Yosuke!" Jiraiya decided to let him have his fun, though that didn't stop him from laughing on the inside, Izanagi also knew that Yosuke was always someone who loved theatrics.

"U-Um Yosuke, you should really hide those before…" Yu was getting antsy as he noticed a police man in uniform had arrived to the food court and began chatting up the radio on his chest while eyeing at them both, the officer began approaching the teenagers, Yosuke noticed the man and hid the weapons behind him again in a panic.

"Huh…? Ohhh crap, I mean… No! No no no no, this isn't what it looks like. We didn't steal it! Uh, I guess that's not what matters...A-Anyways, we're not doing anything bad! We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons and... Ugh, that doesn't sound right either. Ahaha..." Yosuke mentally kicked himself as he made the situation worse, Yu thought about how there was no way out of this now…he stood up quickly from his seat to face the officer as he spoke out to them.

"Put the weapons down now! We'll listen to your story at the station. Hands where I can see them, too! I said now!" The police man commanded his authority to make the two boys stand down. The personas quickly faded into their user's minds.

"B-But… This isn't…" Yosuke began shaking his head and waving the fake weapons at the officer frantically in a panic, he really wasn't thinking that one through, the officer found him to be a threat.

"Are you resisting an officer of the law!? Y-You're under arrest!" The officer spoke in a shaky frightened tone at the boys, he then braced himself as two officers came up from behind Yu and Yosuke, the officers acted upon them quickly.

"Argh!" A disarmed Yosuke was forced onto the table as an officer placed handcuffs on him roughly, Yu placed himself gently on the table and allowed officers to cuff him as well, the boys were escorted to a squad car outside Junes.

* * *

[Inaba Police Station, Daytime]

"I hope thy relative won't scold thou severely…" A concerned Izanagi spoke in his user's mind as the two boys sat in the back of the car, the siren was blaring as the squad car made its way to the station.

"It'll be fiiine…" a relaxed Jiraiya seemed pretty chill about getting arrested in a effort to calm his panicking user.

"Oh man…You sure that they let us go later?!" Yosuke was afraid this incident might spread at school ruining his popularity.

"Trust me… I have an uncle on the inside." Yu told him in a suspiciously calm demeanor to his face, Yosuke was curious about his mood.

"W-Why are you so calm about that!? Are you sure we won't have our social lives ruined?!" Yosuke practically shouted at him in anxiety of the situation.

"Well, what were you thinking when you brought things into a public area that look like weapons? …Just believe me, okay?" Yu lectured him like a parent and ended it with a confident yet gentle smile to his friend, Yosuke observed him and began to calm a bit after, though he was still in fear of the consequences.

"Thou will make a great father someday…" Izanagi off handedly tells his silver-haired user as he cringed at the fact that he was acting as one towards Yosuke, the joking Japanese God chuckled a bit to himself as they arrived at the station.

(Time passes...)

After a while…in a hallway on the first floor of the station…

"…You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this." Dojima, uncle and father lectured his nephew Yu while scratching his head in agitation of him.

"You know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere. For god's sake...You're lucky I was around, or this would have ended up on your permanent record." Dojima told them with a stern tone, both Yu and Yosuke had their heads down in shame.

"We're sorry..." Yosuke apologized for them, a civilian in a nice suit and a policeman passed by the scene as the conversed right beside each other down the hallway, the boys watched them as they began to speak.

"Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Amagi girl…?" The civilian wondered to the police officer.

"Seems like it… but she's just a high schooler, you know. Could be that she decided to run away from home…"

"Hey, did he say Amagi? Then...She really is-" Yosuke was about to go on to tell Yu but cut himself off as Dojima was right there, though he wouldn't believe them anyway.

"Hm? Who's what now?" Dojima grew suspicious as to what they were referring to.

"Oh, uh, nothing." Yosuke brushed off his concern, Dojima went on to say something else.

"I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress. We're sensitive about certain things. You're free to go. But this better not happen again." Dojima warns the boys and then proceeds to go around them and began walking down the hallway. The boys nodded to each other in understanding and made their way down the opposite end of the hallway to the lobby. Suddenly the infamous culprit himself walked right into the two dumbasses… Oh, I mean our heroes! The boys looked toward the young detective.

"Whoa… Pardon me." Adachi spoke to them in slightly exaggerated surprise, he was holding a cup of hot coffee for Dojima. His and Yu's eyes met, both appearing to have intense hatred for one another, Yu suspected the killer would be aware but…for what reason? Yosuke wondered what was up between them… Izanagi sensed the other version of himself inside Adachi's mind, the God also began wondering what his other self was like outside their battle despite being enemies …even wanting to know what were his hobbies in curiosity. Jiraiya appeared behind Yosuke without his knowledge and made an obscene gesture with his finger at Adachi.

"Hmm… Aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?" Bastard Adachi asked Yu with a sly smile on his face as Yu begins to have a cold expression on his own, Yosuke ignored the intense atmosphere to ask about their hot friend to the young detective.

"Oh! Uh, can we ask you something? It's about Yukiko-san...I mean, Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn. Did something happen to her?" Yosuke wondered to him, Jiraiya snuck back into his mind.

"Huh? Oh, umm...Well let's see, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi...Keep this between us, okay? We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere." Adachi almost forgot what to say, thankfully case notes were there to remind the bastard.

"Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time. Oh, but that doesn't necessarily mean this is a case just yet! But, people have been turning up dead on foggy days, so we're really sensitive to stuff like this. By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?" The Reverse Fool asked the two with a quiet tone.

"Uh...? Hard times?" Yosuke was perplexed by what he said, Yu admitted Adachi was half right at the time about that…just half right.

"Well, that announcer, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder. Seems Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it caused the manager to collapse. And with Ms. Amagi being the manager's daughter...She must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know." Adachi continued speaking in a slightly quiet tone.

"By the way, did Ms. Amagi ever hint that she might be leaving the house? 'Cause if not, there's been some theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason or another... Crap, I think I've gone too far. You didn't hear that, okay?" A panicked Adachi tells them as Dojima suddenly yells at him from afar.

"Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!? And where's my coffee!?" Dojima demanded sustenance for the long work day.

"S-Sorry! I got it right here!" Adachi played his rookie cop role to him very well, even having his usual panicked tone for Dojima.

"Psst! Forget I said anything! Please!" Adachi then winks playfully to Yu like a complete bastard would and walks toward to where Dojima is, Yu knew that he would have to confront Adachi later in private to see if he really knows about the world changing back to the beginning. him and Yosuke began walking towards the lobby again, Yosuke pondered on the words the young detective said about his friend Yukiko.

"Hey… Does that detective think that Yukiko-san-" Yosuke was surprised by Chie who was wearing an open green sweater.

"There you are! Sheesh, what're you guys doing!? I've been looking everywhere!" Chie finally found them, she walked a long way to the station after having seen them be put in a squad car.

"Uh, well, there was a slight misunderstanding…we'll tell you about it later." Yosuke tells their tomboy friend but Yu knows the truth won't be brought up that it was actually all Yosuke's fault anyways so he does it himself.

"It was this guy's fault for bringing weapons into the food court." Yu innocently tells Chie who began to not understand what the heck what was going on in Yosuke's mind.

"What, Yosuke?" Chie expressed but was not surprised, questioning a guilty Yosuke.

"Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!" Yosuke diverts the attention from himself to more important matters.

"Huh? You know already!?" I kept calling her cell, but she didn't pick up...So I went to her house, and it turns out Yukiko really did disappear! Chie expressed worry to them with her voice.

"I guess we've got no choice but to go now. But that aside, the cops are saying some weird stuff. They think Yukiko-san's hiding to "lay low…Apparently Yukiko-san's mom collapsed because that announcer lady bitched her out. They think that gives her a motive, and the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious..." Yosuke tells Chie what he heard from the young detective.

"What!? They think Yukiko did it!? What the hell is wrong with them!?" Chie angrily shouted at Yosuke but not Yu for some reason…

"Dude, don't snap at me! Yukiko's the victim here, dammit, not the suspect..." Yosuke showed worry for their friend as well. The two were both agitated at the situation, Yu stepped in for them to focus.

"Look, we need to save her." Yu expressed to them seriously, he needed to act as their leader once more, his persona agreed with him on his choice of words.

"R-Right! That's the important thing!" Chie geared up happily to the silver haired boy, the spunky girl felt she was ready to save her best friend Yukiko, though Yu knew it wasn't the only reason Chie wanted to save her... and he couldn't guide the girl out facing her other self later on, it pained him to stand by and wait for that to happen to her.

"With the police totally on the wrong track, we've gotta handle it ourselves." Yosuke tells his buddy who nods in agreement with him.

"I'm going too! And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what!" Chie expresses her desire to them stubbornly without knowing the real dangers of the TV World.

"Are you gonna be all right? But man...They just confiscated our weapons. We can't go in empty-handed." Yosuke wondered what they were going to gear up with, Yu knew a spot where to find weapons and so did Chie.

"Weapons? I know just the place! C'mon, follow me!" Chie tells them of a spot she knew, surprising only Yosuke who began thinking all those movies were going to her head. A determined Chie runs outside the station to lead them to the place, they follow her quickly. Izanagi spoke in Yu's mind.

"I'm ready to save them both… are thou feeling well about Chie-san?" Izanagi sensed his user's feelings toward the energetic girl's fate of facing her own shadow…

"I need to at least let her know that everything will be alright …I want to tell her something before we go in after getting back to Junes." Yu ran behind Chie, he gazed up at her running form, she was determined to go in no matter what danger awaits them, he needed to say something special.

* * *

[Old Man Daidara's Metal works, Daytime]

The weapons shop Chie told them about was filled with all sorts of shiny medieval weapons aligning its walls, displays of different types of armor were spread out all over the store, a lit fireplace roared on behind to the right of the register where old man Daidara stood, he had red thinning hair that was connected to the mustache he had but what was really noticeable about him was the "x" scar across on his face.

"Here we are!" Chie tells them enthusiastically as they stood to in the middle of the shop due to being cluttered with sharp things, Daidara as Yu knew him was an artist with a passion to create fine weapons.

"Wh-What kinda shop is this...?" Yosuke looked out as a spear was pointing out to his face from the clutter.

"A metal works, I guess? They sell all sorts of metal crap, like katanas and stuff." Chie replies to his curiosity, he was pretty skepitcal.

"Doesn't that seem weird to you!? Why would you know about a place like this anyway? Oh, I get it. You watched one too many kung-fu movies, and..." Yosuke was about to go on at Chie for filling her head with movies."

"It's not that at all! I overheard some guys in our class talk about it. They said this place sells weapons and armor. Here, this one looks good. But it might be too heavy..." Chie looks at display of a large piece of chest armor. Yosuke wanted speak out to her who may go Leeroy Jenkins but Yu knew that was a forgone conclusion.

"I' dunno, Chie...I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but-" Yosuke was cut off by Chie turning around to lash at him with emotion, he was taken aback by her action.

"You don't! …You don't know shit about how I feel! Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!" Chie angrily spoke in a sad broken tone as she tried to keep her composure up about the situation, her head was down in gloominess... and here comes Yu who decided to diffuse the tension between her and Yosuke.

"Okay, but stay behind us..." Yu tells her with a slightly worried expression, he wanted to protect her as well…

"Psh, I'll be fine! My reflexes are second to none!" Chie brighten ups confidently for Yu so he wouldn't need to worry about her safety. A sweat drop appeared on his head as he didn't know that his say didn't even matter…he would protect her nonetheless though.

"Listen...I'm not kidding around. You don't know what it's like in there! If you're not gonna listen to our warnings, we're leaving you here! If you insist on coming, just make sure you have something to protect yourself." Yosuke warns Chie about the dangers she's putting herself into, she gives into his concern.

"Alright..." Chie pouted, she began looking around for something as the other two talked.

"Now what should we get? Hey, Yu. Mind picking out something for me, too? You're our main asset in battle right now, so I think you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you." Yosuke walked up to his buddy and handed over some cash. He received 5000 yen from Yosuke to use but he already had a large sum of money in his wallet, new game plus indeed… Chie finishes up her search after buying whatever she was going to need for journey.

"I got my stuff all picked out! How about you guys?" Chie asks them.

"You know, if we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again. But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either..." Yosuke pondered on how to deal with that...here comes an impossible idea.

"Why not conceal them under our uniforms? I don' think people would notice." Chie suggests this inexplicable good idea she had to her two friends.

"Okay...Let's try that." Yosuke believes her as Yu always wondered how the hell that worked out for them.

"Alright, let's split up and get ready. The store'll be crowded until the afternoon sale ends, and if we walk around together, the cops might get suspicious." Yosuke explains the plan of action, Chie nods over to Yu with a focused expression.

"Then I'll see you guys at the Junes food court!" Chie agrees with Yosuke's suggestion, the two nod right back at her in affirmation. Yu goes up to old man Daidara to buy stuff as Chie heads outside and waits for them to finish up.

"Have you come to see my art? Please, look around. Take your time." The old artist tells him from behind the register.

"let's see…" Yu picks up two sets of chain mail, an Imitation Katana and a pair of Hunting Nata for himself and Yosuke.

"Nice…" An excited Yosuke takes up the pair of newly purchased knives, he playfully tosses one of them in the air a little. Jiraiya watched him fondly.

"Don't cut yourself." Yu warns him as he puts away his plastic sword in a toy sheath. The two head outside the store…

* * *

[Shopping District, Daytime]

After saying goodbye to Yosuke and Chie who then proceed to go back to their homes to prepare themselves, Yu headed down south and then suddenly the Velvet door appeared on the wall between the weapons shop and the book store, Yu with Izanagi in mind head over to it as the key in his pocket begins shining a bright glow of blue, Yu entered back to the endless limo ride through the fog, he sat down for a chat with Igor, Margaret, and someone new...

"We have been expecting you..." Igor greets Yu from his usual seat, Margaret was by her master's side and had apparently found the Persona compendium for Yu, it was on her lap. Yu then noticed a strange unfriendly looking dark-haired girl, she had on a blue hat and some trendy goth clothes and she had a book bag around her chest. She was sitting on the opposite side of Margaret, Yu's persona stayed quiet in his mind for this...

"Since You already know my purpose to you… I have time to tell you something new that I have felt in the Midnight Channel that may prove a threat to your journey… a dastardly powerful shadow has showed up and will try to kill you wherever you go inside the TV, and if you proceed to fight against it in your current state, you will die." Igor tells him seriously.

"What? Is this shadow that tough?" Yu was concerned for the whole team as they needed to head in their later.

"Yes, it has haunted my past guests and it will come for you as well since you're a persona user." Igor explains a little more.

"What makes it hunt only for persona users?" Yu wondered to him.

"The Reaper… is the physical embodiment of hate and insanity inside a soul who hasn't returned to the sea… The hate this soul possesses manifested from a fatal encounter with one similar to yourself such … and so like a curse, The Reaper attacks those who were like him as a sort of revenge." Igor told him this awesome lore or over the top guess.

"Geez, guess this revenge has been going on for some time… So, what does the shadow look like?" Yu asked Igor for the shadow's appearance to know when what to avoid.

"The shadow wears dark garments and a bloodied sack over his head …it also appears with a missing eye." Igor describes the Reaper to his guest, who shuttered a little at the image of him.

"I know who to really avoid then… and back down like a huge coward that wants to live…" Yu expresses to him truthfully since he's the leader of the group, he thought the Reaper may actually be targeting him the most. Yu after stopping his thoughts, he looks over at the unfriendly girl and he's pretty sure that he hasn't met her before at all.

"Margret dear, will you introduce our new employee to our guest?" Igor gestures to Margaret, playfully referring to the unfriendly girl.

"Employee?" Yu was perplexed about the unfriendly girl joining them in this place…it went pretty quiet in the room instantly.

"…" There was some awkward quietness between them all. The unfriendly looking girl glared at the boy who began to have an uncomfortable look on his face due to this prolonged silence…

"...Marie?" Margaret urges her to speak up and talk with Yu…for some reason.

"Yeah, I can hear. Nice to meet you." Marie speaks in almost bored tone to him. Yu was slightly put off by her attitude but he had a smile to disguise himself.

"Uh…Why are you here?" Yu asks her in a forced polite tone...

"…Dunno. It doesn't matter." Marie displayed dismissive attitude and was sure helpful for info, Yu thought sarcastically.

"Excuse her. This is Marie. Her soul is still very young and-" Margret spoke in a tone like she was babysitting this girl but was ultimately was cut off Marie.

"Shut up! Don't tell him any more about me than you need to..." Marie spoke rudely to Margaret who just brushed it off like it was nothing.

"...As you can see. She may be brusque at times, but please understand that she is only an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness." Margaret explains for him to feel no bitterness towards Marie, he had the feeling that they would all get along like some big happy family, sarcastically.

"Got it." Yu decided to give her a chance to become good friends…best of friends!

"Marie will be dealing with "Skill Cards." Using these cards will allow you to provide your Personas with new powers. Also, I am sure she will help you form a bond between yourself and the "outside world." Marie will contact you at a later date. Please feel free to speak with her here when you wish to use her services." Margaret explains Marie's purpose in the Velvet room.

"Looks like we've struck gold, Izanagi! I guess no more of seeing what the tarot cards spit out randomly all the time…" Yu was pretty glad about that in his mind.

"I have a hunch that this abrasive child might turn out to be sort of important, let's get on her good side...though she scares me a little for some reason." Izanagi spoke up and admitted to Yu that he was also a little put off by Marie as well.

"Oh by the way I have your Persona Compendium right here!" Margaret successfully found his book with a proud expression on her face, she opens up the page with his name on it, Yu was dumbfounded by what he saw.

"…Kenpachi Ramasama?" Yu spoke the name that was clearly on the book page. it looks ...like she was mistaken, the proud expression Margaret had on turned into a broken a smile, even a strand of hair shot up from her head in stress, Marie was slightly amused by this show...the velvet attendant begins to whine in agony of having to go back in that huge office...

"We will meet again and this time we will have your Compendium…for sure." Igor spoke tiredly with a bitter frown on his face from all this, Yu felt bad that he didn't just keep his mouth shut.

"So yeah, all those incredibly useful and vitally important Velvet Room services you just got told all about? Can't use them yet! Bye! Have fun storming the castle!" Marie cheerfully with a wave of her hand, she casted the guilty-looking grey haired boy and his persona out of the room and back into the real world.

* * *

Author's Notes: Man this took a while to do! due to a lot of important school work. I decided to cut this sequence into two chapters because it was a lot to write and I wanted it focus on Chie and Yukiko in castle. Please Review for any errors! I have a friend working with me to get this going!

Side Notes for Future chapters in the works:

-The Next Midnight Channel Boss with Yosuke and Yu.

-Teddie gets the group in a jam with the reaper.

-Yu will use a creepy red horse guy for the battle against Yukiko's Shadow...for reasons.

-Jiraiya will confront his crush...totally.


	15. Chapter 15

Midnight Channel Boss: **SHADOW CHIE** \- Chapter 15

{April 17, 2011} {Sunny}

[Central Shopping District South, Daytime]

{-YOUR AFFECTION-}

"Well, so much for retrieving the stronger you from Margaret… but at least we can finally move freely!" Yu tells his Persona with some pep in his voice after coming back into the normal world from the Velvet door. Yu clasps his hands together and stretches his arms above his head in relief. He felt pretty good about finally being able to move his own legs, he starts walking down the district road with an astral projection Izanagi by his side.

"Are thou ready to face her shadow…?" Izanagi spoke with concern for Yu's feelings on that, The Japanese god thought more about Tomoe after facing Jiraiya, he wondered what were her suppressed feelings toward him and his user…

"I'll do my best to end it quickly… for her sake." Yu was determined to face Chie's shadow, he was still thinking of something special to say before going inside the TV with her and Yosuke, Yu noticed that he was passing by the book store on his way to Junes, he knows that he won't need it anymore but Izanagi did want him to retrieve a book he asked for… Yu wondered which one it was that his persona wanted to read again, so he asked him.

"Hey Izanagi, we're by the book store…so just tell me which book you wanted me to get…" Yu asked the God as he was right outside the place, Yu waited for a bit so Izanagi could answer him.

"Please don't hate me for this… Witch Detective." Izanagi told his user embarrassed about his tastes in literature, Yu was dumbfounded beyond belief!

"Th-That book…was physically painful to read…" Yu with a sad expression on his face, he cringed a little at the thought of Izanagi liking it and looked up toward the tall persona in question.

"I-I know it was terrible but I couldn't stop reading it! …I need it to help Jiraiya with...u-uh…" Izanagi was hesitant to even tell his own user that it was also his shipping material for his two friends that are filled belligerent sexual tension or so he thought…

"Konohana Sakuya huh… do you want me to help out too? I won't ask how you think that book will help in this." Yu told his persona as he already made comparisons with the characters of that bad comic book with the relationship between the personas of his friends.

"Well maybe thou can… I don't know if Jiraiya would mind despite thou knowing about his affinity for our fiery friend." Izanagi tells his user as Yu went to the book store's entrance to go get that vile assault of the mind in the form of literature, Yu decided to ask him something else that was on his mind.

"Do you think of Konohana Sakuya as a friend?" Yu asked his persona to which the Japanese God nodded "yes" in reply.

"So, what do you think Tomoe as?" Yu asked him as he was curious to know about how Izanagi felt towards Chie's persona.

"I am not sure how to feel, but I know I did treasure my time spent with her… I guess thou can say she was "different" to me from the others… I wonder how she feels towards me now…" Izanagi spoke calmly to him but he felt he couldn't say any more about it until he sees her agains, he kept wondering about it.

"I understand completely Izanagi… Let me go get that book for you and then we'll head to Junes with the others, okay?" Yu had a comforting smile for his unsure persona… was he finally acknowledging the feelings of others truly? …who knows! Yu heads into the store to buy the manga or whatever.

* * *

[Junes department store, Daytime]

Chie and Yosuke were waiting by the usual table in the Junes food court for Yu to arrive. The silver hair boy took a couple of steps into the place with Chie noticing that Yu had come to join them surely…she shot up from her chair in determination and readiness, Yosuke got up too as Yu came to a complete stop to them.

"Man…we really stick out… Guess it doesn't help that we're in our school uniforms on a Sunday… The sale should end soon, so that'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here. Alright...let's get going." Yosuke looks at both of them, they returned a nod in affirmation.

"Chie, it's not too late to-" Yosuke knew Chie was putting herself in trouble but was cut off by her stubbornness to save Yukiko.

"I'm going!" Chie looked at Yosuke with annoyed expression of him trying dissuade her, Yu was preparing himself to say the words he chose for Chie's sake, he signals to Yosuke for something.

"Fine, but don't push yourself, got it!?" Yosuke warns her for the final time, Chie nods to the Junes boy with him nodding to Yu who also nodded back to Chie in agreement to go through with this, Yosuke then goes off suddenly, probably to check if it's all clear of people in the electronics section, Chie was looking over at the Junes boy curiously as to why he left the two of them alone… she turns her head to the tall… "handsome…" transfer student, she began panicking a little inside to be with him like this again... The Personas of the two boys were floating idly nearby, they were watching the boy and girl from a good hearing distance, Jiraiya knew Yu was always straightforward with his attraction but seeing him be slightly nervous was a sight, Izanagi couldn't disagree with him on this.

"Chie…" Yu was nervous on the inside to say how he felt towards the girl but he kept his composure so she wouldn't notice it.

"Y-Yeah?" Chie was getting curious of what he was going to say, she was also a little nervous of what it could be…

"I said that I'll be there to help stop anything bad that happens… and I mean it… so, if anything does happen while we're in there …I promise that …I'll protect you with the new power I have …is that okay with you?" Yu told Chie his declaration of protection with gentle caring eyes. The girl had been in bad mood about the situation so Yu felt that he needed to say that he had her back for real… just like the past Chie did for him long ago. The present Chie was slightly embarrassed (and a little relieved…) that a boy she barely knew would risk his life for her sake and her admittedly selfish desires…it was admirable.

"Thanks…for having my back…" A smiling Chie spoke in a gentle tone to him after hearing that, she looked away slightly down from his face to hide the fact that she was blushing all over…it seemed that she's becoming more uncertain of how she thinks of him …she kept wondering who he really was after all this time, she wanted to know but...she puts that thought aside to return attention to the task at hand…the two then begin to stare into each other's eyes with meaningful smiles on their faces...until Yosuke comes back any minute now to ruin this tender moment.

"Geez those two… Come on…KISS HER YOU FOOL!" A miffed Jiraiya shouted indiscreetly at the lover boy to make his move, though he knew it wasn't the time yet. Izanagi was right by his side reading thoroughly through a weird looking book…Jiraiya looked over to him in curiosity.

"What the hell is that?" Jiraiya wondered looking at the cover of the book his partner was reading...as it was obviously Witch Detective.

"The guide to your love life…" Izanagi looked over to him playfully, Jiraiya was annoyed by his best friend teasing him more about this.

"Whatever…we need to come up with a plan on how to deal with Tomoe… who might talk crap to us which might confuse Yosuke and Teddie-san." Jiraiya tells him, mostly wanting to avoid the previous subject.

"What do you have in mind?" Izanagi asks him looking away from his book. Jiraiya wraps his arm around his partner's neck and pulled their heads closer to talk in whispers of secrecy until it was time to go in.

* * *

[The Midnight Channel, Daytime]

One swirly black and white TV shaped wormhole later…the trio were in the entrance hall once again! They were walking up from the stack of TVs that served as doors, right to the bear who was thinking diligently about himself with his cute paws on his head like if he had a little headache, the personas were resting up for battle inside the minds of Yu and Yosuke, the duo began putting on their pair of glasses to see better.

"Whoa, it really is that bear from last time…" Chie looks over to the bear in surprise to see his form again.

"What're you doing?" Yosuke asks the pondering bear curiously.

"Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff. I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now. Hey, that wasn't a bad joke. Heehee!" Teddie had a sad expression but cheered himself up a little with a bear pun, Yu as much he was annoyed by them, thought they were funny in terrible way now.

"So... did you figure anything out?" Yosuke… needless to say, wasn't amused by the bear's joke but suddenly a trollish thought came into his mind.

"Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty." Yosuke was pretty blunt about his head, Teddie ran up to him in anger of him saying that.

"How rude! …You're right, though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head." The bear was honest about it; Chie was growing impatient by their banter.

"Will you guys shut up!? Now's not the time for stupid jokes! Listen-someone came here yesterday, right?" Chie asks the bear; he turns toward her in surprise.

"Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!? What's your name, Miss?" Teddies asks her with a smile.

"M-Miss? Uh...I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that "someone!" Chie was taken a back a little by his comment, though she focused herself again.

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys. After that, I felt like someone was here." Teddie in reply to her and the others, he was pointing in a direction away from the entrance hall.

"Is it Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke almost sounded like he was shouting to know, Yu guessed that a part of Yosuke wanted to be a hero in the eyes of their "dorky" friend… you know just like Yu with Chie, right? The bear turns toward the Junes boy to respond.

"I don't know. I haven't looked...The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are." Teddie quickly tells him; Chie looks over to where the bear was pointing with some eagerness.

"Over there, huh? Is everyone ready?" Chie looks over to the two boys with a serious expression, Yu nods to her in confidence as Yosuke was caught off by her running away immediately to where Teddie thinks Yukiko is.

"Y-Yeah!" Yosuke quickly says as he follows Yu who immediately started following Chie as she ran, they moved quickly away from the entrance hall, Teddie needed to act quick as well or else he gonna get left behind by them…

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Daytime]

The group came to a stop by a large red princess castle, the brick walls on the sides of the castle's pathway were adorned by stone statues of rearing horses, the draw bridge revealed the same old black and red vortex door.

"What the…? A castle?! Y'think this is the place they showed on TV last time?" Chie looks up at the huge structure in question.

"You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?" Yosuke asks Teddie this one more time.

"Program? I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no "camera" stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning." Teddie explains.

"From the beginning?" That's what we don't understand!" Yosuke tells him in frustration; Yu did know what this world really was but he assumed that he couldn't tell Yosuke himself or else Teddie might get antsy about how he even knows.

"I dunno...Can you guys explain everything about your world? I've never seen this "program" thingy before. So I don't know." Teddie had a point, Yosuke couldn't argue. Chie began speaking out.

"Well, is that really what's happening? Are we really looking into this world? Because the first time Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off? I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like "score myself a hot stud?" That's not like her at all!" Chie couldn't believe she watched her friend say those things, she also wondered about "a certain someone" her friend talked about, she was confused by who could that be...it was Izanagi for the readers out there.

"Score?" "Stud"...?" Teddie began wondering about what she means; Yu knew that this was something Yukiko would never live down…ever.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Yukiko-san would never say anything like that. I wonder...Is this kinda like what happened to me last time?" Yosuke speaks out, wondering if it was truly the same situation.

"There's a lot of stuff I still don't get. But after hearing your story, I think that "program" happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that..." The bear tells the group, Yu thought Teddie was on the right track because he is.

"So, Yukiko is producing the show herself? Ugh, I don't get this at all! Hey...Do you feel Yukiko's presence from inside?" Chie looks out to the castle again and asks the bear as he turns towards her to explain more.

"I'm pretty sure. So, um, what's this "scoring with a hot stud" thing...?" Teddie was more curious about that.

"Yukiko's here… I'm going on ahead!" Chie runs past Yu who watches her go off again into the castle by herself, he took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for the battles ahead, he began running after her.

"Hey, wait! Don't go alone! Geez! We better follow her!" Yosuke tells Teddie to make haste to the castle, the group enters the huge "dungeon."

"She hasn't gone that far yet." Teddie senses that Chie wasn't far away from them, she had stopped in place on the second floor.

"Ugh, she ran off all alone...Dammit, let's go!" Yosuke quickly follows Yu down a castle hallway which had a laid out red carpet and drapes decorating its exposed sides, the leader was thinking with his instincts of where the set of stairs to the next floor could be… Teddie spoke out to him suddenly...

"Um, wait a second! The Shadows have gotten aggravated ever since you two got here. They'll probably attack as soon as they find you, Sensei. So try to get the jump on Shadows before they can attack you!" Just as Teddie said that line, Yu and Yosuke were comically taken in surprise by a lying Hablerie and calm Pesce shadow duo, a flying head monster and a wired ornament dolphin respectively.

*fight woosh!*

{-TIME TO MAKE HISTORY-}

"Dammit, there's no time for this!" Yu quickly smashes his persona card on the Hablerie while ignoring the new battle music for this place, Izanagi appeared in a flash and casted Zio to expose its weakness, then immediately cleaved the shadow to dust. Yosuke was struggling to compose himself as he still didn't have his signature battle stance ready, he had to put one of his knives slowly under his armpit to smash his card with a free hand, Jiraiya appeared with style and casted Garu on the pesce, exposing its own weakness to wind.

"Yeah I got one!" Yosuke said excitedly at the downed shadow; Yu immediately casted Zio on dolphin shadow to finish the battle, the shadows were both defeated… and then win screen!

"HAHA LEVEL UP!" Yosuke shouts excitedly as Yu wondered what the hell he was doing, but he quickly turned his attention to what's important...his best girl.

"Yosuke, you need to act quick or else Yu's gonna get all the ladies…let's work on a flashy move for battle." Jiraiya decided to teach Yosuke his past user's stuff, mostly to annoy Yu a little more.

"Like this?" Yosuke threw his card in the air to hit with a spinning move ...but he missed completely, Yu was impatient but decided to wait as he considered it important to see his son's-no-PARTNER'S growth as a persona user, Yosuke got it down after a few dozen tries.

"Hmm...You're good at fighting, Sensei. Compared to you, Yosuke stinks..." Teddie had observed Yu's fight from a safe distance like a huge coward.

"Shut up, Ted!" Yosuke shouts at Teddie for making fun of him, which he was right for doing so cause the Baer (no typo here) was nothing but a weak cub instead, Jiraiya thought.

"Though I do gotta admit, you have a knack for this stuff." Yosuke was honest about it as he was a new guy to the world of fighting shadows.

"Doesn't he? So you should be the one to give Yosuke orders during a fight." Teddie tells his sensei without caring for how Yosuke feels; he was peeved by the bear but…

"It ticks me off to hear Teddie say that stuff, but I don't wanna cause trouble doing my own thing in battle. So don't hesitate to order me around. I'm counting on you." Yosuke places his trust to Yu who quickly nods in affirmation and then dashes into a direction suddenly.

"All right, the stairs! Let's go guys!" Yu sees the set of stairs after opening a huge castle door he reached with good fortune.

"I wonder how far in she went...She doesn't have glasses on! It's too dangerous for her here!" Teddie tells the group, Yu quickly races up the stairs for his love.

"Geez, that girl...Let's hurry after her, Teddie!" Yosuke shouts out to him as he and the bear followed Yu to where Chie is, they went up the castle stairs after him.

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Floor 2]

The three and the personas in mind rush through the large castle doors at the end of the staircase to find their friend in the green tracksuit in the middle of a large castle room with huge red square shaped carpets placed on top of each other, there was also more red drapes and big stone steps all around them, they approached Chie closely.

"Chie! Are you all right!? Chie…?" Yosuke tells her as she was facing away intently listening to something in the air above.

"She said that red looks good on me..." Yukiko's voice echoes throughout the castle room.

"Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke calls out to the voice in surprise, he looks around for his friend.

"Snow is cold and it melts quickly. It's transient...worthless. But it's perfect for me...Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. Still...Chie told me that red looks good on me." Yukiko's voice continued speaking…

"Are these...Yukiko-san's inner thoughts? I remember hearing Senpai's, too..." Yosuke had made that comparison in his mind, he didn't know that she always felt this way.

"Yeah. This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person." Teddie assumes as he listened on as well.

"Yukiko..." Chie listened on to Yukiko's feelings as she called her best friend's name in worry of what she was hearing.

"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning. She's bright and strong, and she can do anything. She has everything that I don't...Compared to Chie, I'm...I'm...Chie protects me. She looks after my worthless life, and I... I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind..." Yukiko speaks the words… her friend wanted to hear most….

"Yukiko, I-I…" Chie wanted to let her know she wasn't that at all, Yu quietly watched her as he readied his blade and persona card. He was determined to stop this quickly, he then notices that her Shadow had formed faintly in front of them while the others weren't looking, the shadow of Chie began walking towards them.

"Chie is so kind," huh? What a joke." The other Chie speaks out, startling Chie as the shadow walked in front of her to get a good look at her normal self... The shadow of Chie had bright golden eyes and a dark aura emitting from her.

"Wh-What!?" Chie looked at her other self in shock of what she was saying...

"Oh…man Is that…!?" Yosuke looked at the shadow in surprise, its him all over again, he thought.

"It's just like Yosuke! She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!" Teddie told the group quickly as the shadow began to speak.

"Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless! *chuckle* That's how it should be, right?" Shadow Chie asked her normal self if she agreed too, of course she does! But she doesn't like the sound of it.

"Wh-What're you saying?" Chie began the phase of denial of her innermost feelings in front of her.

"Yukiko's sooo good looking...sooo fair-skinned...sooo feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy? Man, did I get a charge out of that! Yukiko knows the score... She can't do anything if I'm not around… I'm better than her...Much, much better!" The Shadow Spoke out arrogantly to her other self with an unpleasant smile.

"No! I have never thought that!" Chie shouted to her other self against what she was saying, these were her true feelings deep inside.

"Wh-What're we gonna do?" Yosuke began panicking at the situation while Yu looked over to him in frustration by this.

"We need to protect Chie, what do you think?" A bitter Yu told him; it seems his mood was soured by this scene in particular, Yosuke looked at him in surprise of how his partner said that but he knew now was not the time...

"Thou need to stay focused, Remember?" Izanagi tried to remind his user not to let feelings get the best of him, Yu to a deep breath to refocus himself.

"Okay…let's do this!" Yosuke readied his knives and stayed determined for his buddy to save their friend. Jiraiya speaks to him before battle time.

"Yu-san is really worried about Chie... so don't take it personally, okay Yosuke?" Jiraiya was caring for his user's feelings, Yosuke then nods in affirmation; the grim scene continues on…

"We need to protect Chie-chan right now!" Teddie proceeded to glared at **Shadow Chie** before them, they closed in as they all knew what was to come of it.

"N-No, don't come near me! Don't Look at me!" Chie turned around and began shouting at them in a panic not to come closer to her because this was her real self exposed...

"Chie, calm down!" Yu speaks out to her in concern, he begins glaring past her to see her shadow staying still with a creepy smile on her face.

"No... No, this isn't me!" Chie was on the last leg of denial, Shadow Chie covered her mouth from not trying to laugh out loud at all of this like a complete ass.

"W-Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!" Yosuke warns her in vain, it's gonna come soon!

"*chuckle* That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone…" Shadow Chie laughs hard while holding her stomach, she calmed herself from laughing and speaks one last feeling of Chie's to do the trick.

"I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person. I'm pathetic. But Yukiko... She depends on me. *chuckle* That's why she's my friend. I'll never loosen my grip on her... She's too important to me." The Shadow spoke quietly to her normal self with a small smile of evilness.

"No... That is not how I think of her..." A panicking Chie continues her denial; the Shadow was savvy about it.

"*chuckle* So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again? But things are different now. When the times comes, I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind, right! I'm still you!" Shadow Chie speaks to her one last time in anger.

"Shut up! You're…" Chie was angry now and decided to shout out in a final attempt to deny her other self once again.

"Chie, no!" Yosuke calls out to his friend but it was too late now.

"You're not me!" Chie uttered the magic words, Shadow Chie looked on with a delighted expression.

"*chuckle* HeeHee… Ahahahahahaha!" Shadow Chie's dark aura envelops her body with smaller weaker shadows that were lurking around coming onto her as they sensed the strong will to kill her normal self and from the dark mist that was formed ...emerged a pale figure in skimpy yellow dominatrix attire with a pointy hood that had a silly red smiley face on it, the figure was held up by a stack of grey sad-looking girls wearing the Yasogami school uniform, the shadow's "hair" was Rapunzel-long and black with some strands of it having sharp blades at the ends, that gust from the transformation knocked the normal Chie off her feet and out cold.

"Chie!" Yosuke again calls out to her on the ground as he and a now "furious" Yu were rushing to her side with persona cards and weapons drawn.

"I-It's coming! You have to use your powers to save Chie-chan!" Teddie tell them as he kneels to Chie on the ground.

"Teddie, take care of Chie and look after her while we do this…" Yu tells the bear with a serious expression as he continued to stare the shadow down in quiet fury.

"Okay, please be beary careful…" Teddie begins tending to an unconscious Chie, as he was being covered by the brave persona users who were about to battle Shadow Chie for their friend's life, Yu was definitely not going to lose to this one for sure.

*fight woosh!*

{-I'LL FACE MYSELF-}

"I am a shadow… the true self… What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the real me? Then you're gonna pay the price!" Shadow Chie declared to the two boys beneath her, she looks down at them in anger.

"Shut up! Quit being such a pain!... Chie just hang in there a little longer…" Yosuke speaks out to an obviously KO'd Chie on the ground as Teddie cared for her from behind the two, Yu knew his pal was just as caring as he was for Chie, he wonders why he's so eager to ship the two of them, but he then refocuses his attention on the shadow in front of him and his partner.

"...I'll protect her from you!" Yu declared angrily at the scoffing shadow-self of the girl he likes. Yu brandished his imitation sword for battle with Yosuke taking up his knives and setting his headphones to ass-kicking music.

"Hah… Think you can stop me that easy, Yu-kun!?" The Shadow mocked him in arrogance, Yu quickly acted upon the chance to strike her as soon as she spoke out.

"Persona!" Yu shouted out with a hoarse tone and smashed the card of his persona with his free hand, Izanagi appeared in a flash and casted Rakunda to lower her defense for a short time, Yosuke was ready to take a hit at her as well.

"Let's Throw down! Persona!" Yosuke throws up his card in the air and cuts it with a flashy spinning move he came up with by using his knife's sharp blade. Jiraiya appeared above his user with another spinning move of his own to show off and casted Garu on The Shadow…the light "wind breeze" attack had knocked her off balance surprisingly from the "secure" stack of school girls and it left her vulnerable to a "gang bash" by the two boys. (it's called that in the game's code don't blame me...)

"Let's do this Partner!" Yosuke was eager to get in a close scrap with Shadow Chie, Yu nodded "yes" to him and they readied themselves…FOR AN ALL OUT ATTACK!

"Okay! Ready or not, here we come!" The two dashed furiously at the downed shadow and got into a big cartoony smoke ball of violence, the shadow occasionally knocked Yosuke out of the ball but he got up right away and ran inside again every time, the Shadow took heavy damage and was angrier now.

"Looks like you won't understand without a little pain!" Shadow Chie casted Mazio on the two persona users as payback, the light shock attack had exposed Yosuke's weakness to her and he was knocked down as a result, Yu however was resistant to it, thanks to Izanagi's affinity.

"Ahahaha, How lame! You're all so deadly serious, and we've only gotten started! Are you guys idiots!? Why are you protecting her like that? She's nothing but a grubby bitch! …Here have Some of her BOTTOMLESS ENVY!" Shadow Chie then proceeded to attack Yosuke again with her hairy combat tentacles, they piled on him with heavy force which then dazed him for a while, Yu was taken by surprise because since he's never seen this attack before… to him, that was definitely a change in the timeline.

"Dammit, I don't have anything to give Yosuke!" Yu thought frantically as Shadow Chie laughed manically at them, Izanagi spoke calmly in his mind.

"Just summon me once again… me and Jiraiya came up with a plan in case she realizes it's us and starts badmouthing… which may cause confusion all around..." Izanagi told him, this confused his user slightly but he understood.

"What do you guys have in mind…?" Yu wondered about their plan, Izanagi reassured him that "it'll be fine." No it won't... or maybe, just keep reading!

"Okay… Persona!" Yu smashed his card again to summon his Persona against Shadow Chie, Izanagi came forth and smacked her with his blade on a stick, the shadow began remembering his figure.

"You...you seem familiar somehow...why is that…?" The Shadow wondered for a bit and then it hit her in realization! She started giggling evilly as readied her whip.

"COME HERE IZANAGI!" Shadow Chie shouted and lashed her red whip onto Izanagi's right leg which forced him to the ground in surprise, the Persona began yelling in fake panic as he was quickly being dragged closer to the shadow for "a little chat."

"Izanagi!" Yu shouted in worry until he noticed that his persona winked at him with a thumbs up from his long "cat-like" fingernails to signal to his user that this was going okay as he was being dragged away by Shadow Chie's whip, Yu guessed it was part of the plan…but then suddenly Izanagi was put into a suspension bondage by Shadow Chie's hair tentacles, The Persona pondered if this was actually part of the plan Jiraiya told him about while he was hanging horizontally with his arms and legs bounded together behind him, he was instantly brought close to the shadow's face.

"Izanagi…it's good to see you again…" A gleeful Shadow Chie began caressing his face mask sensually with her yellow gloved hand, Izanagi was totally confused by this while Yu watched in horror of what may "happen" between them. The persona user was looking frantically between them and his downed partner who was still dizzy…thankfully. Izanagi followed wherever her hand went on his face with his eyes until he noticed her "alluring body" just below him, He quickly averted himself in chivalry but she had noticed what he did and giggled in delight, but then her mood quickly became bitter with memories.

"You promised me…that I could stay by your side always… and then all too quickly… you were leaving me behind to go with him!" A bitter Shadow Chie began gripping his face mask with her fingers and forced Izanagi's view down to Yu as she pointed at his user. Shadow Chie quickly then returned his view to her form.

"Does he even love Master!?" The Shadow spoke in quiet anger for Chie, questioning the tied up persona, Izanagi spoke on his user's behalf.

"Of course he does… he always told me how he really felt…" Izanagi spoke calmly to her but she tightens her grip on his face in more anger.

"Then why didn't he say it, huh!? Why didn't he assure her from the doubts she had about herself? She thought that "Yu-kun could have anyone else if he wanted to…" so why DID HE CHOOSE HER of all people!?" Shadow Chie looked angrily into Izanagi's eyes, Yu heard all of this in shock and shame that this was how his girlfriend Chie really felt all the time with him not having a clue what was going on when they were still together. Yu knew that he's gonna definitely change that, he was planning on being open about their relationship to the team this time around instead loving in secrecy, that'll end her doubt for sure.

"He was going to tell her sometime ago, but It's a secret on how he was going to… I can't tell you that!" Izanagi spoke in a strained voice as Shadow Chie became sorrowful all of the sudden, she spoke out to him in a mix of sadness and anger.

"I knew it… You promised me eternity and even said that I was woman worth a thousand men… I was very happy when you told me that, but in the end you're still no different from HIM!" Shadow Chie spoke out in a sad angry tone to Izanagi but she wasn't pointing to Yu at all, Izanagi was perplexed by who the heck she was referring to, maybe someone from her own past as an old female warrior. Izanagi needed to be careful of what he says to her but he was sure of himself now.

"Tomoe, being with you all those times we trained… brought back the feelings of intimacy I once strove for long ago. I didn't realize what you meant to me until we embraced in farewell… and now I want us to start over, and I meant what I said about you staying by my side but fate took that away …but now we can do this again, I want to take this chance because… you make me feel less alone." Izanagi spoke sincerely to her as he was still hanging from being entangled by her hair, she was touched by the feelings he held deep for a while inside of him.

"I didn't know that you had these feelings of loneliness as well, I want us to be together too…" A heartfelt Shadow Chie was distracted by Izanagi's many true words, she laid a gentle hand on the side of his face mask and gazed at him with love struck eyes...

"Yes together!" Izanagi eagerly feels that he could resolve this whole thing without needing to fight, his feelings for her were realized now, Yu was watching the scene with a small smile but that quickly faded away as he realized shadows were always dark evil entities, …and Yosuke was still in a dizzy state from the boss attack, Jiraiya kept a close eye on him from his user's mind.

"Let's become ONE so both of us won't ever be alone again…" Shadow Chie declared proudly with a cheerful expression, the hand she had on his face started merging inside of him quickly… needless to say, Izanagi started to panic as soon as that began happening.

"JIRAIYA, THIS ISN'T PART OF THE PLAN!" Izanagi was being enveloped inside the shadow of his own best girl, Jiraiya appeared from Yosuke's body and then smacked his user on the head to wake him up from his dizzy state.

"H-Huh…what's going on?" Yosuke wondered as he saw that Yu's persona was in deep trouble, he was then yelled at by Jiraiya to act quickly to save his buddy.

"Let's Do This Yosuke!" Jiraiya spoke from his user's mind as he was summoned by Yosuke to cast Garu in order to free Izanagi. The wind spell cut Izanagi free from Shadow Chie's hair bondage and he quickly got back to Yu's mind, slightly startled by the endeavor.

"One more time Jiraiya!" Yosuke calls forth the frog Ninja to cast more wind magic on the shadow…the light breeze had knocked Shadow Chie over and she toppled to her side, the school girls she was on were in a "sad" pile by themselves, The Shadow herself was struggling to get up from the attack by using her own legs.

"Ngh… Don't make fun of me… You're… You're nothing against me…!" The shadow spoke defiantly at the persona users as she continued to struggle to get up on her feet, she looked scornfully at Yosuke, who was looking at her with cold-blooded eyes.

"Now Yosuke!" Yu calls out to his partner for an all-out attack once more, Yosuke obliged him for this and shouted out to the shadow as they ran in for another big ball of violence against her.

"OUTTA OUR WAY!" Yosuke declares viciously as he was eager to get payback from her previous attack, the smoke that formed from the duo's rapid blows enveloped Shadow Chie for the last time... she was left on the ground, bruised up in defeat… she spoke out for herself.

"I should have trained more…" Shadow Chie's form began fading away into smaller shadows, she looks over to Yu as he returned her gaze back, she nods to him to go by Chie's side now… he guessed Tomoe wants her user to be truly happy this time, he makes a promise to be better for her sake, he was still bitter about not knowing how she truly felt…but again, that was gonna change with time. The two tired boys then walked back over to Teddie and Chie to see if she had woken up.

"I bearly understand what the heck is even going on in those Shadow fights!" Teddie exclaims perplexed of what just happened to his sensei and Yosuke as Chie began sitting up from her nap, a "worried sick" Yu quickly got to her right side and held the girl's arm gently to stand her up from the ground she was napping on.

"Ngh…What happened...?" Chie wondered as she got on her feet with Yu's help and gazed up to see her shadow in front her, the shadow staring with a blank expression.

"Chie! Are you okay!?" Yosuke exclaims in worry at the two "not lovers".

"What's the matter…? Got nothing to say anymore?" Chie was still bitter about what her other self said, Yu let her arm go slowly for the healing process to begin.

"Stop it, Chie. It's all right." Yosuke starts assuring her of this, she turns her body to face the two boys and Teddie in sadness of who she really is.

"B-But..." Chie was still reluctant to see herself portrayed like that, it was all so much to take in and her best friend was still in danger.

"You're more than that thing…everyone has these other faces..." Yu tells her sincerely with a caring yet worried expression on his face, Chie didn't know what to think of it until Yosuke explained to her about it more.

"He's right. I went through the same thing. So I can understand...I mean, everyone has a side like this." Yosuke remembers his time like this as well, he admitted it wasn't fun but he grew up a little though…Chie gazed down slightly thinking a bit in more reluctance… but then she faced toward her shadow with some newfound confidence.

"Yeah… I kinda get it now. You are me… A side of me I couldn't forgive...That I tried to ignore...But you still exist. You're a part of me." Chie finally accepts the repressed feelings of herself, and then suddenly… the shadow smiles, pleased by her words and faded up to be transfigured in to a woman warrior in a bike helmet and a yellow jumpsuit, the figure also was armed with a red hot nagata, Chie noticed that what she was wearing looked a lot like Bruce Lee's famous "Game of Death" attire, she was in slight awe of it, the persona nods down to her user happily and fades into the shape of a tarot card, it floats down to get inside Chie's soul.

"The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest. Chie has faced her other self...She has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Tomoe!" Jiraiya and Izanagi both exclaimed excitedly together in their user's minds waiting to be reunited with her persona, Yosuke thought it was "just a persona thing", Tomoe sensed their enthusiasm from Chie's mind and was touched by it, she wanted to see Izanagi again with her real eyes this time, feeling better about their relationship now.

"I… Um, It's true that part of me feels that way…but I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!" Chie tells the group earnestly about her best friend.

"Like we didn't know that already." Yosuke had a good point about Chie making that clear, suddenly the girl in green slumped down in exhaustion but Yu quickly acted to catch her right before she hit ground, Chie was now in his "strong" arms, she gazed up from a slight leaning position at the grey-haired boy who had a very worried expression on his face, she blushed a little as her heart was stirred by his chivalrous action, the whole thing was very romantic to say the least, the personas thought. Teddie wondered if this was the "stud-scoring" thing Chie talked about.

"H-Hey! Chie!" Yosuke exclaims, not knowing if she was going to pass out, the Junes boy was also taking notes of what Yu was doing, he was given the chance to let Yukiko see him in a new light and he was gonna take it! The Wild Card and the new Chariot were staring at each other as he was still holding her up.

"I'm okay...Just a little tired..." Chie gave the grey-haired boy gazing down at her a meaningful smile once again to ease his worry, she guessed that he kept his promise after all.

"You don't look okay at all. And I bet...You can use the same power we have now." Yosuke tells her as Jiraiya appears above him to show what he means; Jiraiya's arms were folded up like a "badass", Chie looked at Yosuke's silly frogman in curiosity.

"Huh?" Chie was dumbfounded by Yosuke's persona as she was suddenly let go by Yu who was holding her for a bit, Yu believed she had secure footing to stand on her own now, she notices Yu's figure as well, Izanagi was floating right behind his own user with gentle yellow swirly eyes in care for her as well, The black long coated figure gives a small bow to the girl Yu loves deeply, Chie wondered if this was the power Yu talked about...

"Your own persona will explain this power when you get strength back…" Yu explains to her what Yosuke was going on about, assuring that feeling in her, …with this power now, she can save her best friend truly from anything.

"Hey, what should we do?" Yosuke asks his now "considered leader."

"Let's go back for now..." Yu tells the group in care for Chie, he was feeling beat despite his experience, his body could not keep up like it used to…

"I agree. We need to let Chie rest." Yosuke agrees with his plan of action.

"I-I never said I needed a rest! I... can still keep going..." Chie was obviously too tired to go on, but her spirit was there, she looks toward the next set of doors on the other side of the room and tries to walk over there to show them that she's fine.

"Don't overdo it!" Teddie steps in and blocks her way to stop any attempts of her running off again because he cares now too.

"It's not that we don't think you can. It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup." Yosuke explains to her.

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!? I-I... If those were Yukiko's true feelings, then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me...Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd..." Chie needed to tell her this so badly, Yu believed as well as Yukiko that Chie was in fact a very "strong" person still.

"Well, you need to get your strength back! Then you can tell her! Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only attack when the fog lifts here." Teddie gives her some info with a confident tone.

"Teddie told us that the weather here is the opposite of our own world. The fog usually appears after it rains. But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon." Yosuke explains more on how everything worked to his female friend.

"But...But I can't turn back now! We've come so far! Yukiko's still here! She's all alone...She must be so scared!" Chie did have a point about that…or not who knows! Read the next chapter I'm currently working on!

"Then you tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!" A caring Yosuke also had a point despite Yu knowing it was at least ten floors of "randomness."

"Th-That's...!" Chie tried to argue but she didn't have a clue, she looked over to Yu who always backed her up, but then he lays a gentle hand on her shoulder and agreed with Yosuke to assure her of this.

"You don't know what's up ahead. The enemies might be even stronger. If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then!? We can't fail, no matter what. Am I wrong?" Yosuke made his position clear to her, she reluctantly accepted it.

"...Alright." A reluctant Chie in reply to him.

"I'm sorry about before… I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself..." She tells them both in apology, Yu suddenly takes up her hand with his own and raises both between them in a "Shonen-like compromise", he looks at her with confident proud eyes as she was surprised by his action, she thought that was actually pretty cool of him to do, Yosuke takes more notes of his buddy and Chie on being a "cool guy" to girls.

"Let's go together next time…I promise you that we can save Yukiko once we're truly ready, I'll train hard for your friend's sake." Yu assures her with an enthusiastic expression, she believes him and now they can totally save Yukiko together as a team.

"No worries. We're definitely gonna save her. Right?" Yosuke told Chie with an assuring smile for this plan.

"...Right!" Chie agreed warmly to the two of them and Teddie. The group and their personas made their way safely out of the dungeon zone and back to the entrance hall…of the Midnight Channel.

* * *

[Entrance Hall, TV World]

The grouped stopped by the pile of 70s TVs in the entrance hall on the way out, but not before discussing some important stuff, Izanagi and Jiraiya were floating quietly above their users.

"I… I'm feeling even worse than the last time I came in here…My head feels like it's gonna split open...Are you guys okay?" Chie felt really exhausted from being in this place for too long without protective eye wear, Tomoe was resting snuggly inside her master's head until her user was strong enough to summon her.

"It's thanks to these." Yu gestures to his stylish black pair of glasses for her, Chie notices that he looks good in them…very attractive and mysterious transfer student indeed, she thought.

"That's right, you're not wearing the glasses." Yosuke gestures to his orange pair as well to show Chie.

"Oh yeah...What's with those glasses? Did your eyesight go bad?" Chie looked at both of her bespectacled friends in curiosity.

"Man, you didn't notice until now? How panicked were you?" Yosuke decided to Joke a little about it with Yu feeling uncomfortable by him doing that ...but he knew Yosuke didn't know any better, Teddie pulled out something out of nowhere for the girl.

"Tum de dummm! I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too. Here you go!" A happy Teddie hands her own stylish pair of glasses, they were bright yellow! She puts them on and is amazed at her newfound sight.

"Whoa! What-!? This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist! Huh...so that's the trick. I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going. Hey, is it alright if I keep these?" Chie looks around the TV world's surroundings with her new glasses and she asks the bear for them.

"Fo' sho!" Teddie was using super dated but fly slang for her…Jiraiya cringed a bit above Yosuke at hearing the bear say something like that.

"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" Yosuke asks the bear in question about it.

"I made them right now! You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!" Teddie defended himself against an accusing Yosuke, seeing this again made Yu all nostalgic inside...

"We'll have to stop here today. But I'll be back with these puppies! You guys better not come here without me, got it!?" Chie was now more determined than ever; she spoke with enthusiasm to the two as she looked at Yu expectantly, it seems that Chie was starting to see him as reliable.

"Yeah, let's all promise each other: Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve the case or save Yukiko-san, right?" Yosuke brings in the team as Yu's unofficial second in command.

"You're right." Yu told him with determined resolve to solve this case once more…again.

"Yeah, I agree. I promise too." Chie looked at Yu with a smile, she was ready to use her new power when the time comes...

"Let's save Yukiko." Yu told the group and they nodded in agreement with him, this word choice was wise, thought the persona Izanagi because Yu was trying to get with the spunky girl faster than before.

"Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school to save her, and that includes days off. Hey...Would you mind being our leader? You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than either of us. I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana." Yosuke was eager to give away the responsibility, Yu nods to him for task to be taken by himself.

"Leave it to me..." Yu told Yosuke with a confident tone, he needed to act as leader to them again…for the final time hopefully.

"I had a feeling you'd say that. I mean, I'm more the advisor type, you know? An ideas man, not an executive." Yosuke was a manager's son after all...not the future manager or anything.

"I'm with Yosuke. If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this." Chie looked at Yu with a another more cheerful smile, Yu was just glad she was in a good mood again.

"I'm with Yosuke too. If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night." Teddies tells his sensei with a bright smile, he kinda copied the girl's words to Yu.

"Teddie, would you please stop talking? I'm really on edge right now..." Chie had gotten a headache from this place and it was apparently aggravated by Teddie's voice, the bear had a sweat drop on his head from being called out.

"Women, am I right?" A floating Jiraiya nudges to Izanagi who was hesitant to respond as Tomoe could be eavesdropping on them from inside Chie, suddenly Izanagi spoke in a booming voice out of habit for something.

" **Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana."**

Izanagi spoke out, his voice startled all in the group as it was very sudden and loud, Yu knew his persona couldn't help it…Jiraiya rolls his eyes at his partner.

* * *

Author's Notes: This is a continuation from where we left off, Chie's personal time with Tomoe will come up next and Yukiko chats with her "crazy in love" shadow.

Side notes for future chapters:

-Orobas joins the party for Yukiko's Dungeon, he creeps Yosuke out with his uncanny human hands.

-The Reaper introduces himself to Yu and friends to talk about the "real reason" he's hunting them.

Questions so please send a review to answer:

Thanatos or Orpheus? Or both?

Minato and Minako as brother and sister? or no?


	16. Chapter 16

Fool/Chariot – Chapter 16

{April 17, 2011} {Sunny}

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

After an emotionally exhausting day in the TV World, Yu and his persona sat by the small living room table with Dojima and Nanako for another nice "family dinner"...they all were watching ther TV in the corner as the news came on.

"That's all for world news tonight. Coming up next, the local news."

Dojima was sitting and pondering about something as the two kids ate their dinner quietly, The Uncle and father had a stern expression on his face, he turned his head toward Yu as he was eating.

"Hey. Mind if I ask something? You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you? What happened at the station this afternoon...it's still bothering me, is there anything you're not telling me?" Dojima asks him with a serious tone with a hint of concern, Yu answers him in effort to not seem suspicious now more than ever before.

"Of course not." Yu mindlessly said as he continued eating his dinner, Izanagi and his user hoped that Dojima would be more understanding this time, but these things aren't guaranteed.

"...I see. Well, it's just been nagging at me, that's all." Dojima seems to have eased up on his questioning of Yu, Nanako began to speak out against any potential conflict as she was watching the both of them.

"What's wrong, Dad? A-Are you fighting?" Nanako had a frantic expression for Dojima, her eyes were crazy and unsteady, Doijma tries to assure her…it doesn't work.

"No... We're not having a fight." Dojima said calmly as Nanako begins yelling out loud at her dad in anxiety.

"DAD WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING STOP FIGHTING DAAAAD YOU PROMISED YOU'D STOP FIGHTING...!" After a while of trying to calm down the young peace-loving girl of Justice, the two men (and Persona/Ghostly friend) agreed to never fight (not in front of Nanako, anyway…) at home.

"I agreed to look after you. So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you into trouble. Got that?" Dojima lastly said to Yu after making the peace pact for Nanako.

"And now, our weather forecast. Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer." The weather report shows the next couple of days, Yu watches closely out of habit, he plans to have the the team rescue Yukiko on the next day since he was more than ready now this time.

"Is this lady the one who decides the weather? Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is." Nanako naively and innocently asks the dad and ace detective from her spot at the table.

"Uh, she's not really deciding it... Never mind." Dojima doesn't want ruin his daughter's sense of wonder, they all finish dinner and decided to do their own separate things around the small home.

"…Don't fight." Nanako had a stern expression to her cousin as he was about to call it a day.

"Sorry…" Yu was truly sincere, though he still had found her seriousness "cute" but again, he promised the young girl to not butt heads with her dad ever, Yu was confident about bringing them all together again as a truly loving family.

*Cute Little Nod* Nanako then turns her attention to the TV, Yu walks by Dojima as he heads to his room upstairs, Doijma was by the kitchen table, reading a newspaper, he lifts his head from it to tell Yu just one more thing...

"Sorry about that, I killed the mood, didn't I? ...Listen, I'll only say this once, so listen close. Maybe it's normal for kids like you to be goofing around outside at night back in the big city. But this isn't the city, it's the countryside. And your mother trusts me to keep you safe. You're not a kid anymore. I just have to trust you when you're out of my sight. But I can't just let you run around at night. You get me? So that's it. Don't go wandering around at night if you don't have any reason to go out, all right?" Dojima was serious and kind of repetitive, though it didn't stop the city boy from going out to just work a job he had, night fishing, and the occasional" inviting his girlfriend over when both Dojima and Nanako were out of the house for important-like things or staying in a close friend's home.

Izanagi began remembering he was there for all his user's awkward house dates with Chie. The God and Chie's Persona always preferred to "not watch" their users when they were passing "a long while" with each other because "…it's just so wrong." It made him feel weird to be there for those things with the yellow jump-suited female warrior back then, he thought more about Tomoe since they are now in a mutual relationship while Yu was in the process of romancing Chie with everything he had…again.

"I understand completely…" Yu tells his uncle in agreement, he heads up to his bedroom to privately talk with Izanagi about something that still bothered him a bit. Yu sat on the love seat in his room while Izanagi was floating in front of him. they began discussing what happened today.

"Man, I can't believe I didn't know how she really felt before…it was too short of a year for us to express these things inside..." Yu shamed himself about his past Chie, his head was down and hands were together in contemplation of what to do about these feelings of regret, His persona spoke to him in a gentle tone.

"Communication is important in a relationship; Chie-san could have told thou about it, but I think she was afraid of making a "big deal." Izanagi tries to comfort his user; the boy looks up to The God from his sorrow.

"Heh, says the God who needs someone to be straightforward with their attraction to him…thanks though, I'm glad you're here." Yu was slightly sarcastic, but grateful to Izanagi's attempts at comfort, The Japanese God sighs to himself in relief now that his user was in "lighter" mood.

"She can tell me anything, I would be glad to hear her problems and try to help in any way I could …I guess it didn't help that me and her were dating behind the team's back …she could have thought I was too ashamed of us to tell them." Yu bummed himself more with his fears of being a failure as Chie's boyfriend.

"Stop that, thou are now just making things up to make thy self-sad… Chie-san agreed to it so it wouldn't harm the friendship between herself, Yukiko, and Rise-san." Izanagi decided to be more tough loving on his user so he wouldn't bum himself out too much, Yu spoke once more.

"When I first came to Inaba, I didn't see myself as someone with personality compared to others. I didn't think friendship would become so important to me. Before coming here, I didn't care who was there for me as long as they were to push the feelings of loneliness away …but after spending a while in this town here… I changed a lot over time, I bonded with people and it felt "real" you know... I felt less alone and that I existed as someone. They began to see me as a person who they could lean on… a person they trusted to tell their personal feelings and problems to, and then I wondered… who could do that for me? I still depended on people to be around me so I wouldn't feel always alone… I had built up stress from being a leader on a case I genuinely believed we couldn't solve at all, and as "Yu Narukami" who everyone counted on for great things, I felt anxiety on keeping "that" up. When I trained with Chie, it felt different from the others, I could lower my "social persona" with her and I was at peace with being my true self, I didn't worry about anything those times…I looked up to that girl as someone who wanted others to see "Chie Satonaka" as "reliable" instead of being the girl that was just always there for Yukiko. I felt that me and her wanted the same thing…to change how people see us and give us purpose in life but with time…that changed for her, she genuinely wanted to be strong enough to protect everyone important to her and after that, I realized I wanted the same thing…I was grateful to all of the people I bonded with for being my first "real" friends and those lonely feelings I still have with me don't come up so much anymore…so why did I "choose" to become intimate with Chie? I thought "as her friend" I was just worried, seeing how hard she was pushing to stick her neck out for anyone who needed help. I guess I just wanted to do the same for her but I started feeling something more, the way I was caring for Chie was much more different than what I did for the other girls, I felt I was doing it out of love but I wasn't sure until… when she asked if she could protect me… I didn't want Chie to hurt herself more than she needed and I wanted tell her she's not alone in this, just like she did for me… and then I asked her to be my girlfriend, I was so panicked on how I felt truly about her at this point that I just said it outright…Geez, Chie was right… that was so embarrassing. She completed me more than I could ever have imagined." Yu chuckled a bit to himself in sadness of those past memories, expressing how alone he had felt before everyone he met made him feel like he existed in this world. Izanagi ruffled his user's grey hair in a comforting way after hearing his user out on how he felt about Chie more…

"The only person who low-key knew about what we were doing in the past was Yosuke …everyone else had a vague idea, but Rise didn't seem too happy when I showed interest in my actual secret girlfriend instead of her." Yu knew that the big friend-zoning storm was to come again, it's going to be "feels bad man" for everyone and him…including Yosuke.

"I'm pretty sure that at least a majority of this whole village had feelings for thou…" Izanagi told this undisputed truth to his user, Yu looked at him puzzled by this fact, then there was some silence between them until Yu spoke up.

"So you and Tomoe, huh?" A slightly tired Yu had a small amused smile for his persona as the Japanese God in question became flustered by his teasing.

"I-I connected with her at an intimate level, but I was too busy with the murder case to notice her true feelings …I never met someone like her before …someone so different from my ex-wife …someone who could be so radiant and yet be able to move her body gracefully with such fierceness during battle…!" Izanagi became more embarrassed as he thought of Tomoe's form just now, Yu looked at him amused that his persona held these feelings for Chie's Persona.

"Geez, I wonder if you're just going through puberty…" Yu off-handily tells his persona as he was reminded of something.

"Now I'm thinking of who Tomoe was comparing me to when she was yelling at me as a shadow…" Izanagi began pondering of who this guy could be as Yu responded to him in wonder about it also.

"Yeah, that weirded me out too, do you have an idea?" Yu asked his persona in curiosity from his seat.

"Now that thou mentioned it… there was some strange tension between Tomoe and our friend Yoshitsune when he joined us once for training …I also remember Trumpeter was playing his instrument at him teasingly about that later on, so it could be my old general friend… it also didn't help that Jack Frost started to spread rumors about those two among thy other personas…" Izanagi thought more about the possibility of the connection between the old general and the female warrior. Note: Jack Frost is a cute little snowman.

"I can summon him from Igor's room so you could ask about it or I can just look it up on my phone's internet…" Yu suggested this to Izanagi in an attempt to put him at ease, he had his mobile phone out.

"I rather hear from Tomoe's perspective …though Yoshitsune did told me long ago that "the deed was done and it can't be changed…" and then he later told Tomoe as a warrior that she should "move on to someone that's worthy of her eyes..." Izanagi began remembering the general telling him this privately in Yu's head once… suddenly, him and his user hear Nanako calling from down stairs, Yu and persona in mind head down to see what she needed to tell them.

"The phone." Nanako gestures to the house phone on the shelf between the kitchen and living room quickly as her show came on again. Yu picks up the phone to hear a familiar voice.

"Ahem It's me, Morooka. I have something that I've prepared just for you. I was going to deliver it to your house, but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up. Er, where am I? *ahem* I am in front of the gas station at the shopping district. You got that? Now hurry up and come pick it up!" Morooka shouted at him lastly before ending the call, Yu thought this was peculiar of his teacher to do but decided not to question it as this gave him a chance to go out, he got his shoes on and was about to leave until Dojima questioned him from his sitting spot at the table.

"Who called you just now? Don't tell me you're planning on going out at this hour." Dojima lifted his head from the paper he was still reading by the kitchen table.

"Morooka has summoned thou...but thou must pass through thy strict relative...to freedom!" Izanagi speaks in Yu's mind dramatically, Yu prepared himself against Dojima with an excuse.

"My homeroom teacher needs to see me." Yu tells his uncle sincerely as he was near the door.

"Your homeroom teacher wants to see you? You just transferred here, and you've already done something? No... This is you we're talking about. Well, I understand. Go take care of business and hurry back home." Doijma allows him to pass onto the dark "adult" streets, Yu heads out the door and sees the beautiful night sky for once without nothing of fishing or work on his mind this time, the boy began running quickly up hill on the road with Izanagi popping out as he reached the top and they had their fists in the air and jumped in excitement of being considered more trustworthy by Yu's uncle.

{-SKY FULL OF STARS-}

"FREEDOM!" Yu and Izanagi shouted at the top of their lungs as they began exploring the nightlife while talking more of Tomoe's origins, somewhere… a Spunky girl in her bedroom was about to discover something inside of her had come out…

[Chie's Dojo aka her family home, Evening] [Credited to Amouren, co-writer]

To say that Chie was tired would be the understatement of the century...well who wouldn't be after going into a TV and meeting the physical manifestation of her repressed thoughts and emotions. Even weirder still, after naturally having deny anything to do with the cruel and just downright despicable girl that shared her face, it turned into a...silly dominatrix monster but no matter how much she wanted to say "you're not me" again, that monster that Yosuke and Narukami- No…Yu-kun fought was still a part of her and denying it any more than she already had would only lead to more trouble for them and to her surprise accepting the truth about herself felt "good…like a massive weight had been lifted off of her chest. But damned if it wasn't tiring by the time she got home from Junes, Chie felt like she had just done thirteen laps around the Samegawa river bank followed by three hundred sets of push-ups and sit-ups. She barely said anything to her mother as she shambled into her house after parting with the two boys as it started getting darker. proceeding up the stairs into her room flicking the switch on the wall as she entered. Nearly tripping over random bits of martial arts paraphernalia that seemed to be scattered around her less than tidy room, various posters of Kung-Fu movies both new and old were tacked on in seemingly random places on the...slightly "damaged" walls that totally didn't end up that way because she may or may not have been imitating some techniques from a certain Bruce Lee masterpiece. Peeling off her prized green track jacket and black school uniform underneath both of which had been drenched in sweat from the day's events. Revealing the thin green tank top and yellow undershirt that she wore underneath for those days of after school training when the weather was starting to lean less towards spring and more like that blissful time known as summer.

"Ugh..." She groaned as she carelessly flopped onto her oh so welcoming looking bed.

"Oh sweet being known as sleep I give myself to your sweet sweet embrace." Chie said into her pillow her voice muffled by the fluffy god that was known only as the bamboo pillow. She tried her best to try and fall asleep but a combination of the lingering adrenaline still in her system and the fact that the light was still on. She was about shamblye out of her comfy slice of temporary heaven before someone turned out the light.

"Thanks Mom." she groaned, her head still glued to the pillow.

"Your welcome Master." Came an overly peppy reply, oh that's nice Mom called her "Master" wait… something about that sentence didn't sound right… she looked to the source of the voice and was met with the second weirdest thing she had seen that day. Standing in the corner of her room by her "not so subtly hidden" stash of Daigouku goodies was the yellow clad ghost like figure that had shown up in Yukiko's castle after her shadow had had its condescending ass kicked. What did it call itself again? Tokone? Temarei? Testsuo?

"Tomoe." The now "named" figure spoke as if reading her mind, Tomoe's shining eyes from inside the bike helmet were focused on her user. Normally she would be spooked solid by anything spectral or ghost-like but she was super wiped so if the weird ghost Kung-Fu thing wants to call herself Tomoe than that's fine by her.

"That's because I am reading your mind Master." Tomoe said again. Okay things just got more awkward.

"U-Um, hi…" A nervous Chie quietly still unsure how to address the astral figure, what did the boys called it again before they left…was it "Persona?"

"That is correct Master and hello to you as well!" The Persona answered quickly once again reading the spunky brown haired girl's mind.

"Okay stop that!" Chie said, she wondered how this "Persona" can read her thoughts…it was really freaking her out.

"Stop what Master?" Tomoe questioned, looking as if in curiosity...she decided to mess with her user a bit.

"Th-The mind reading thing, it's kinda freaking me out and with all the things that have happened today the last thing I need is a ghost reading my mind." Chie huffed crossing her arms over her chest. She took a deep breath maybe she shouldn't be so short with the "Persona."

"Hey umm if you don't me asking what are you anyway? I-I mean I don't wanna seem r-rude or anything it's just with everything that's happened today I kinda wanna make sure you're not gonna try and squash me into a "tenderloin" as I sleep or something like that." She said with a hint of nervousness to her voice. Tomoe almost looked sad by what she had just said…it was like Chie had just denied the shadow all over again. But the sad expression was soon replaced with an almost calm and understanding one… once she gave it some thought, she had done and said some pretty "questionable (Izanagi) things" to the others when she was still in her untamed form.

"Oh Master, I would never ever do anything to hurt you, I exist solely to serve and protect you from everything from Shadows to heartbreak. I am Tomoe, your Persona!" Tomoe said hints of pride echoing in her voice.

"Yeah Yeah I got that part but what exactly is a Persona? And correct me if I'm wrong Tomoe is a type of symbol or drum that samurai adopted so what does that say about me?" Chie said while scratching her head. She would never admit it to the others but she was still having a hard time trying to wrap her mind around what had only happened a few hours ago.

"I understand your confusion Master, so allow me to explain to the best of my ability. My name is Tomoe Gozen, I am the manifestation of you after you faced your other self and also my "lesser than proud" moments." Tomoe said somberly, she really wanted to apologize for scaring Izanagi…and hurting Yosuke yeah that too…obviously.

"B-But that's okay right everyone's allowed an off day, right!? Back to what I was saying…I represent your will and desire to become the very best version of yourself that you can be and in order for you to accomplish that I adopted the name Tomoe and along with it the meaning behind it which is to bring balance to the powers of the earth, sky and the fighting spirit that man possesses manifesting myself in the chariot arcana in the process!" Tomoe said with hints of pride in her voice, also giving herself a new back story. Chie meanwhile still held the same half tired, half confused look that had stayed since the persona had begun her explanation.

"Well I kinda understand what your name implies but then you use words like chariot and arcana, what's that got to do with my will?" Chie asked trying to make sense of what she had just been told.

"Everything." Tomoe's reply was quick.

"See that's what I don't get, what do you mean by everything." Chie Said sounding even more confused than before.

"I mean I am the way I am because you carry within you the traits of the Chariot Arcana, an unstoppable force of determination and will. Everything from my moods to my mannerisms and name to even the way I look are all influenced by this arcana mixed with your personality and experiences, do you think it to be coincidence that I just so happen to be dressed as a certain martial artist we both know and love?" Tomoe Retorted, she really got into those films they'd always watched.

"Doesn't help much…" Chie said dryly. The yellow clad persona thought for a moment and then clapped her hands together in a flash of inspiration as if she knew exactly what to say to make sure her master understood.

"Well think of what I said about unyielding determination, this is the Chariot at its core. Allow me to tell you a story I heard once long ago." Tomoe said as she slowly walked over to Chie's bedside and knelt down on one knee.

"There once was a boy who lived happily with the girl he loved. They were nearly inseparable each of them completing the other, making up for the other's faults and making them a better person at the same time. Their love was so great that it even peaked the attention of the gods above and they too were...enraptured by the purity of what the boy and the girl felt for one another until one day, one of the great gods grew jealous of the boy and tried to win his beloved's favor by promising everything from the finest gowns spun from the purest silks to even eternal life! However, when she refused by saying her heart and soul could only ever belong to the boy she loved. The Jealous God in his rage slew the woman in front of her love." Tomoe began, she got really into this bit…just like Izanagi, she loved to tell stories she made up on the spot!

Chie found herself captivated by the Tale that was being spun in front of her very eyes, Tomoe was using what could only be called "magic" to create puppets made of shinning ice crystals that danced around Chie's dimly lit room, acting out every word the astral form of Tomoe was saying and what a tale it was! Tomoe told her of how the boy, in his desperation to be with the woman he loved so much spent years of his life searching for a way to be with her once more… Even going so far as evoking a deal with the goddess of Time to send him back so he could be with her past self again only to find himself falling into the wrong time warps… even if each attempt to be with her ended in vain, he loved her dearly. Until one day, when he finally reached the correct time, his love asked him a question, "My love, why do you hold me in such regard surely a man like you could have his pick of any maiden in the land. Why choose me?" and he said "Because my love, of all those I see none give me the confidence and tranquility that I feel when I am around you. This feeling is so great that if anything were to happen to you I would bend the very fabric of space and time just to be with you once more." When Tomoe finished her tale of love and tragedy, Chie got the gist of it. It wasn't just confidence that Tomoe represented in her, it was her willingness to go the distance to save the ones she cared about. she'll definitely need that if they were going to save Yukiko. (This little story isn't foreshadowing anything right now… really… not yet anyways…)

"OH, I think I get it now. So I can no matter what count on your help for anything then?" Chie asked her Persona.

"Yes Master, I will always be by you side in order to make it so you can overcome any foe in your path..." Tomoe replied with overwhelming pride in both her master and her impromptu story about Yu-kun as well as her ice puppetry.

"And I can even help with boy troubles too…" Tomoe added offhandedly, they both thought of "Yu-kun."

"Yeah…" Chie said absentmindedly…wait what! Chie was panicking as her persona saw Yu's profile in her mind too.

"EHHHHH! W-wait w-w-what do you mean by that!?" she shrieked slowly getting really red in the face. Tomoe flew inside her head quickly.

"Oh don't be shy master! I'm here to help with any and ALL problems of the mind now let's see-" The old warrior persona began rummaging through her head like a treasure chest full of secrets.

"Ohh no no no! You stay outta my head!" A loud Chie interrupted but her protest was for naught as the persona of the chariot continued in her teasing of her master, Chie couldn't help but feel that this was going to be a long and... stressful partnership…Chie's mother was heading up to her daughter's room to see what all this fuss is about…

* * *

Omake #1

{ **Little bits of Fan Service for the wait! Some concept probably from the future…2009?}**

[Wild Duck Burger, Tatsumi Port Island]

{-WHEN THE MOON'S REACHING OUT STARS-}

"You know… I was worried about coming here… but after trying this mystery burger, I feel a lot more courageous about it, thanks for telling us about this place Minato!" Naoya from St. Hermelin exclaims after getting away from the huge "Noodle" incident in the Velvet Room… The first hero was sitting at the restaurant table with a window near the entrance, all heroes that succeed him in the future were eating together alongside each other. The SEES Co-Leader nodded a little across from him as a way of saying "No Problem" as Minato was enjoying his own burger quietly at the table, he was sitting between Tatsuya and Yu who were eating some of Wild Duck's fast food also, Tatsuya spoke to the group in a relaxed tone… now anyways.

"Well, At Least it's less annoying than being in there with all that craziness…" Tatsuya the Sun, and Seven Sisters student remarked about the Velvet room incident that apparently happened...

"Yeah, Tatsuya-senpai is right! I get to spend the day with both Yu-kun and my personal hero!" Minako exclaimed happily as she sat by Maya's side. The SEES Girl was also giving a tight one-sided and "questionably platonic" hug around the shoulders of the reporter, Minako was leaning her head on Maya's shoulder in addition to the cuddling. The young dark-haired woman looked a little discomforted as it was a good squeeze... but appreciated the admiration from the ponytail girl nonetheless.

"W-Well, aren't you a very positive girl too!" A smiling Maya freed an arm of hers from the tight "teenage girl friend" hug Minako was giving and began stroking the fangirl's hair lovingly in exchange. Minako purred a bit at the touch of her hand. Yu observed them, thinking it was adorable and then spoke about the fries he was eating.

"I wonder why these are so soggy…" Yu questioned and held up a sad-looking fry for the group to see...Minato turned himself towards Yu and gazed up at the tall boy with a small smile of amusement.

"You get used to it after a while, little bro." Minato spoke with a monotonous voice compared to his sister's more upbeat way of expression. He then turned his attention back towards the burger and continued to eat quietly, whether or not he enjoys it, is another story.

"So, how do you guys summon personas? All I do is some action poses and then Seimen Kongou pops out…" Naoya asked the others, he struck up a conversation but hid the embarrassing fact that the poses he does are from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

"Well, when Me and Maya here raise our hands to the air, both Vulcanus and Maia are summoned… and then it's whoop ass time…right Maya?" Tatsuya gestured to her with his hand and gave a teasing smile to the reporter as she began to be flustered by him telling the group that... for some reason. (she says that! That's so cool!)

"A-Anyways Minako-chan, how do you and your brother summon Personas…?" Maya turned her head asking the girl still embracing her a little too close.

"Oh! Like this!" Both Minako and her older brother (who was holding his burger in his left hand) gestured to their heads with finger guns and pretended to shoot themselves, exclaiming "BANG! ORPHEUS!" together with enthusiasm, it made everyone at the table that was not them slightly confused and scared, thankfully no one else in the restaurant payed attention.

"I-I…uh…wow, I don't know how to feel about that… but it's okay! I guess…!" A dumbfounded but happy-looking Maya keeps her positivity face strong for almost anything as a loving Minako returns her arm and reaches out to the reporter's other shoulder to continue cuddling more, Tatsuya had a concerned expression as did Naoya... Yu on the other hand was trying to enjoy the fries in order to avoid speaking his feelings about that.

"That's pretty dark… and that's coming from a guy whose journey is nothing like "Mr. color and sunshine over here." Tatsuya looked over Minato's head to Yu Narukami and turned the attention away from the inappropriate display, The Sun knew The Fool from Yasogami was trying to avoid saying anything about it.

"I-I just crush cards that have the personas on them with my hand…" A nervous Yu spoke to the group. (Izanagi was hanging out with the other personas outside the place.)

"That sounds pretty practical actually, it's seems better than "most" of ours…" A blunt Naoya in reply to Yu, he was subtle on referring to the SEES way and his own way to summon, he really loved those JoJo poses.

"You know; I have the feeling we're missing one of us…" A wondering Minato to the group as he began pondering on who that could be…then shrugged it off as he was bent on getting his burger finished. (Shin Kanzato no longer exists in this universe, as he was killed by the Reaper along with his whole team, Igor had Theodore lay a clay model of a Neo Featherman on his grave in the -trinity soul- reality.)

* * *

Author's Notes: One thousand apologies, I was hoping to releasing this yesterday but things got out of hand (as in school work) so forgive me. please give a review if you would like…it helps to know if people tell me they like this, I mean I'm not going to stop. This whole thing is being used as a cover for my ship…I'm not ashamed. At least three long chapters before we end the month after this one.

Amouren's note: Hello all for all of you who don't know me which is...probably all of you I suppose an introduction is in order...considering I've been helping and guiding RM with this here tale for a little while now so I thought I'd just say well hello and well I hope you enjoyed my little scene with Chie and Tomoe I had a lot of fun writing it Tomoe in my opinion is similar to Chie in that girl next door type personality but with a more maternal or big sister type vibe to her did it come across that way? hope so whelp anyway uhhh what else Oh! that's right I'm also a writer on this site if you enjoyed my style of writing enough to want to see more and like RWBY check out RWBY: Bloodmoon (shameless plug) Umm well that's all I really have to say so i guess this is Amouren Signing off hope you enjoy what RM puts out in the future.

Side Notes for future or other:

-My head canon, Minako being a fangirl of Maya came from past stories told to her by Igor and Theodore.

-The Omake scene that came was originally going to be in Minato's room with just Yu and Minako also.

-The Next Shadow fight, Reaper Boss "Encounter", Orobas(with Redwall) joins the party!

-Jiraiya asks Orobas questions about the future of his love life.


	17. Chapter 17

The Chapter before the Dungeon Because We All Need to Breath – Chapter 17

{April 18, 2011} {Sunny}

[Classroom 2-2, Early Morning]

Yu sat at his desk with Yosuke standing right by him as they talked about yesterday's events. The boys' Personas were having their own conversation right behind them, they both seemed eager to meet with Tomoe again, though Izanagi was admittedly shy to… Yosuke spoke to Yu about the state of Chie's well-being…

"I wonder how Chie's doing. Too much stuff happened yesterday. I hope she's back to her usual self…" Yosuke hoped she would fine like he was after that experience, Yu waited patiently for the spunky girl to come through the door.

A visibly-tired Chie slides the classroom door open, she was walked inside with a tall yellow-cladded astral figure following her. Chie came up to her dude friends as they noticed her coming in, she was a little nervous to talk about what happened yesterday. Chie's Persona Tomoe despite being gone for a short while, was embarrassed to meet up again with Jiraiya and especially Izanagi because of what she tried to do to him… the old female warrior moved across the group and stood right behind the male Personas, they both turned their bodies to meet and welcome their companion back to the team once more. Tomoe decided to speak first but quietly so an unaware Yosuke and Chie won't hear them…

"Hello again, you two…" Tomoe looks between the both of them frantically and then quickly led her head down, she was ashamed by what she tried to do with Izanagi in the TV World… Jiraiya spoke to her in a friendly manner to ease any serious tension between them… unknowingly to him though, there was only embarrassment around.

"Good to be together again, huh?" An enthusiastic Jiraiya folded his arms as he was looking between both of his friends, Izanagi and Tomoe made eye contact with each other, but The former quickly turned his head away from her and became all flustered at the memory of her actions towards him, Tomoe looked upset as he was avoiding her eyes…

"Yes! Quite…" A nervous Izanagi had his head facing away but his eyes would wonder back to her though reverted from any instance of catching her eyes, this action happened a few times for a good while… Tomoe was trying to muster the strength to speak to him but her embarrassment hindered her from doing so… Jiraiya observed them, exasperated by the awkward silence that was now between them.

"Good Grief…*sighs* how are you, Tomoe?" Jiraiya while looking questioningly at Izanagi for not easing her worry about the matter himself as she would want him to, Tomoe quickly replied to the Ninja Frog to direct away any blaming of her new boyfriend.

"I'm well! Izanagi…?" Tomoe wanted to say something to him, she looked toward him with her glowing eyes inside her bike helmet. Izanagi began facing her with full attention for what she was going to say…

"I'm sorry for everything…for trying to absorb you and saying such awful things about Yu-kun, I was not in the right mind and I hope I didn't deter you from me..." Tomoe told him gently, Izanagi composed himself and quickly responded in an effort to lighten her sorrowful mood.

"You need not to apologize for anything, you made my user understand truly how Chie-san had felt all along and now he is determined to do his best to make her happy. I'm just glad that you're with me now…I have come to care about your feelings dearly over this whole time…so don't worry about it, okay?" Izanagi spoke sincerely about his feelings on the matter to his new found romantic partner.

He moved closer to the female warrior and clasped her hands together with his and held them between each other's bodies. Izanagi closed his swirly yellow eyes and leaned his head slowly onto hers while she did the same back in quiet happiness and content. They began nuzzling each other eagerly in comfort as there's no harm done. Jiraiya then shifted his body to block any stray view from their unaware users except for Yu as he already knew about this... the Ninja Frog was doing some "unwanted confusion" control and by that he means Chie could get all flustered by seeing that her Persona was totally attracted to Yu's persona.

"Let's speak later, guys…" A relieved but mood-killing Jiraiya looked at both his friends to return their attention to their user's talk in progress, they both were reluctant to let go of each other's embrace, but knew they would tell each other more of their feelings later in the day. Maybe lunch-time? I don't know...

"Oh, Mornin." Chie greeted Yu at his desk, she acted a bit casual in order to not be so embarrassed by what happened yesterday.

"Did you sleep well?" A sincere Yu asks from his desk to her, he really worried about Chie dearly… Jiraiya thought as he and the other personas quietly watched the interaction between them.

"Yep. I was out cold until this morning…" Chie replied to him with a smile on her face, but then remembered her shadow appearing before them and became embarrassed about it, she looked toward Yosuke and then back to Yu while scratching her head nervously, Yosuke was curious of what she was going to say to the both of them, Yu on the other hand wanted to be supportive for her since she had to go through that stuff twice.

"...Um...Thanks for everything yesterday. It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were right there to see my hidden feelings and all..." Chie went quiet; she became very wary of how Yosuke saw her now since they have been good friends for a while and Yu was a new friend to her, he was someone she barely knew and having him see that other side of her right off the bat was embarrassing…

"Don't sweat it." Yosuke assured her with a friendly tone, Yu smiled gently to Chie to ease their friend of any worry she had. Chie became relieved and nodded her head in understanding toward Yosuke.

"The same thing happened to Yosuke, right? Sooo...What was it like?" Chie was kind of curious since the Junes boy told her that he went through the same exact thing.

"H-Huh? Uhhh, how should I put this...Oh, I nearly forgot! None of that happened when yours awakened, huh? Hmmm, could that be because you've got nothing to hide?" Yosuke turned Chie's attention to his partner and averted telling that embarrassing story by the use of his observation to "Yu's awakening" of his Persona in the TV world. Chie looked surprised and turned her head to the handsome grey-haired boy sitting before her. The spunky girl wanted to tell Yu something she saw about him personally.

"Oh? So nothing happened for you? I gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open guy. There's a funny air about you...I dunno, I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that." Chie genuinely told the grey-haired boy, but couldn't detail why she was eager to make acquaintances with him. Yu decided to put his high courage to the test for Chie, the Personas of the three teens watched him closely in anticipation of what he "could say".

"Falling for me, huh?" Yu sounded pretty blunt with a very blank expression on his face as he said it to her. Though, he was very fearful inside of the repercussions this flirting option. His choice of words however, made Chie's face all flushed in reaction.

"Whoa… W-Wait WHAT!?" A flustered Chie gazed at him in awe of just how open a guy like him could be… she admitted to herself that she was amazed by his confidence to say such things. Tomoe observed that Yu's courage has stayed with him in this new cycle, she wondered how this might change the interactions between her master and Yu in the future. A sweat drop appeared on Yosuke as he and Jiraiya were both getting tired of how blatant the flirting became between his friends.

"Gimme a break you two…" A snarky Yosuke told his friends as they all chuckled a bit about it in good fun. The Personas began to wonder what was so funny about that, Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders to his companions as he didn't have a clue as to why they were laughing.

"Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko. I'm dead set on coming. Remember-you promised." Chie Looked expectantly at the Leader of the team with him showing that he got her concern for Yukiko completely, the trio of teens nodded to each other simultaneously in agreement. The Personas themselves were steeling up for Yukiko's Shadow form that's to come…

*BING BONG* It was time for first period to begin.

"Oh crap, I still haven't gone to the bathroom! Let's go Jiraiya!" An unrelieved Yosuke told his persona as he passed by him and went out the sliding door to the bathroom, the frog-like Persona reluctantly followed him...again.

"It's nice to see he's getting better about that." A playful Tomoe off-handedly told an annoyed-faced Jiraiya as he scoffed and followed his user out quickly. Chie watched Yosuke as he left them alone again, she thought for a bit about something then looked toward Yu in order to tell him what she genuinely thought of him, she grew nervous to say it...

"Hey, um… Th-Thanks for saving me...Yosuke's cool and all, but there really is something different about you. I-I feel like you won't let me down..." Yu sensed Chie's gratitude to him... and then came Izanagi quickly for his part…

"Thou art I… And I am thou… Thou hast establish-" A stealthy Tomoe came from behind the Japanese God and covered his face mask forcefully so he wouldn't ruin their users' moment with each other by doing his annoying habit… Yu remembered he needed Chie's contact info for the investigation ...so then he proceeded to ask her straight out.

"Mind if I have your number, Chie?" An innocent-looking Yu asked Chie for her contact information seeming out of nowhere, Chie was needless to say… flustered by him asking for it suddenly, the Persona couple composed themselves to see what Chie would say in reply, though Tomoe already gotten the Idea…

"W-Wha…? Oh… right. Y-You'll need this from now on, huh? Okay then. F-Feel free to call whenever…" Chie once again red-faced and smiling at her new friend. They took out their cellphones and faced them towards each other to exchange cell numbers. Yu took a moment to look at his phone because Chie's number was now in it…again.

"We have to be careful of the fog that sets in after the rain, right? Let's save her before that happens!" Chie puts away her phone and told the leader of the group seriously as he nodded to her in affirmation, their Personas pumped themselves up for the day ahead.

* * *

[2nd floor hallway of the Main Building, Early Morning]

From classroom 2-2's sliding back door window and in the hallway, a very pale and mysterious moe-looking grey-haired female with low twin-tails stood by watching closely in curiosity at both Yu and Chie who were chatting at their desks with happy expressions before class actually started, the young "girl" also noticed Izanagi and Tomoe standing together by them in content... her curiosity became bitterness. The cute grey-haired girl had on these huge nerdy red-colored glasses and was wearing the first year Yasogami student uniform. Her odd appearance made her quite a stand out among students who were in the hallway since the 2nd floor was for second year students… she was also a little short on height, around the average size of a detective prince.

"I can see you Izanagi… my love, and soon your user will be-" The soft-spoken cute grey-haired girl with jealous eyes was cut off suddenly from beginning her villainous monologue and yelped as she was accidentally knocked down by a Junes boy who was just coming back from the bathroom, Jiraiya remained inside his mind… dozing off. Yosuke looked down in panic of what he had done and was quick to help the odd-looking but cute girl up on her feet.

"Oh my god! I-I'm so sorry, I'm such an idiot! …Here!" A frantic Yosuke kneeled to the cute girl and offered her a hand... the cute-looking girl was on the ground whimpering quietly, she whispered "O-Ow…" under her breath in pain from hitting the wooden floor with her skull, the girl rubbed the back of her head slowly which made Yosuke feel pretty guilty for being a klutz… the female student gazed up at the boy who had knocked her down, she noticed that he had a very worried expression on his face.

Yosuke then got a good look at the young girl and he couldn't help but blush a little as she seemed very adorable with the pair of red glasses she had, the cute girl adjusted them from being lopsided on her face. The grey-haired cutie then spoke in a shy tone to him quickly.

"N-No harm done!" The young grey-haired girl took up his "offering hand" gently as the Junes boy began helping her up in a chivalrous manner as a bunch of 2nd year students watched the spectacle closely from their spots in the hallway, Yosuke used the mental notes he made of Yu very cautiously in order to impress his "other female friend" who was still stuck in the TV World…

"Thanks…Uh?" The grey-haired girl with the crimson eyes actually wondered what his name was as she… had forgotten it.

"Oh! I'm Yosuke Hanamura, sorry to meet you like this…" Yosuke began scratching his head sheepishly because he was talking to such a cute first year student. The Junes boy noticed her "strange crimson pupils" as he was staring into her eyes for a bit too long. Several students near the two, talked amongst themselves about this mysterious girl who seemingly showed up out of nowhere at their school.

"I-It's no trouble, Hanamura-senpai…uh, I'm new here and I'm also a little lost, heh…" The timid grey-haired first year student said to him with a small blush on her cheeks, she also had this "cute but embarrassed" smile on her face as well. Yosuke couldn't fight the feeling of wanting to help this kind cutie to class even if it meant he would be late to his own…

"I can help you… Let's head downstairs and find your classroom together… What's your name miss…?" Yosuke waited patiently for a reply, he had a confident smile for her.

"Yumiko Shirasagi… thank you for helping me… I don't really know anyone here yet." The shy grey-haired girl gave a weak and frail smile that stirred the crap out of Yosuke's heart, he offered his right arm to her quickly like a gentleman and spoke with a hammy-sounding voice.

"Well then Let's us make haste Yumiko-san, or you shall be late to class! …I'll introduce you to some of my friends if you like…" A chivalrous, yet enthusiastic Yosuke exclaimed to her as she giggled in amusement at his acting, she then calmly joined her arm around his own and they began moseying together to the dual set of stairs in the middle of the hallway. A lot of the boys that were there at the scene and knew Yosuke couldn't believe what they were seeing, The **First** prince of Junes with a girl? And she was a cutie too? Come on! No way!

"You're way too kind for a boy, Hanamura-senpai…" An amused Yumiko nuzzled her face against his shoulder and easily made Yosuke all flustered in joy. The prince of Junes thought he was able to impress the "new" girl. They headed down the stairs on their merry way... I wonder what the heck Yukiko is up to…let's see!

* * *

[Yukiko's Throne room, The Midnight Channel…not referred to as "TV World" anymore]

"Tomoe…" The shadow of Yukiko said under her breath in an angry and bitter tone, after witnessing the events that unfolded in the second floor of her castle, it left her "very upset!" She watched her "best friend" Tomoe betray her by making a move on "her Izanagi." She paced back and forth with her hands behind her back using a small amount of space… she was doing this right in front of her future user in the nice pink kimono sitting in the throne chair with a puzzled look on her face, Yukiko was unknowingly observing her "other self", her shadow…

"Um…are you okay?" A curious and somewhat nervous Yukiko asked her dark aura-covered doppelganger in the pink princess dress. After spending a "while" with the hysterical girl …Yukiko seemed okay but a bit weirded out seeing another girl with her exact face, she tried not to question the dark doppelganger about it as she didn't know how to really "talk" to her yet. The Other Yukiko was too busy thinking out loud to notice her at the moment.

"Tomoe… Tomoe, Tomoe, Tomoe! TOMOE! TOMOE! TOMOE!" A visibly-angry Other Yukiko shouted into the Heavens with trembling fists to the air, her voice echoing in the large throne room of the castle... The sitting Yukiko became more confused by this girl's actions and words. What…? What is too "moe?"

"I guess I take that as a no, Huh?" An entirely innocent Yukiko was unknowingly becoming snarkier as she continued watching her other-self ramble like that for a while… and then a "while" became a long period of time until…

"That Bitch… she will pay for trying that stuff on HIM! …Tomoe and her user don't deserve to know us anymore! I'll make her back off and take what is rightfully for Yukiko-sama… and I!" The Other Yukiko thought erratically in her mind, she then stopped her pacing and shot a pleasant smile to her user. The Other Yukiko was very caring for her still despite being a shadow…Yukiko looked a little tired for some reason.

"Are you tired, Yukiko-sama? Please rest… I'll wake you when I sense those filthy vermin and that Stupid Toad coming close…" The Other Yukiko walked up to her normal self still sitting in the big throne chair. The Shadow caressed her Yukiko's "beautiful face" lightly as the kimono girl tried to stay awake if something terrible might happen… she became warier of the dark doppelganger.

"M-My friends you mean…? Wh-Who are you?" A sleepy Yukiko was trying to use all the strength inside her to keep her eyes open…it was no use, she felt a heavy feeling coming over her… The shadow seems hesitant to truly reveal herself to her normal self just yet… She spoke in a calm almost motherly tone…

"…I am someone who wants the best for you. Now please, you must rest at least a little…Yukiko-sama. I'm going to say some very nasty things but… it's for the both of us." The Other Yukiko sat herself beside Normal Yukiko in the chair since it was pretty spacey enough for the both of them. The Other Yukiko laid her sleepy user's head gently on her chest and she began stroking Yukiko's black smooth hair lovingly …and totally not in a "self-loving" manner at all. Needless to say, Yukiko herself didn't know how to feel about this…I mean who in the right mind would.

"Th-This is sooo weird…" A confused Yukiko closed her eyes slowly as she began to sleep quietly on the doppelgangers chest. The Other Yukiko looked down at her sleeping user's face and began thinking more about what happened earlier that day…She then remembered Izanagi's user and his attraction to Chie... as she pondered on …a harsh truth finally reached her and she realized something about Izanagi and Yu. It was already too late for her or Yukiko to even have a chance at love with either of them. The Other Yukiko spoke quietly to the sleeping Amagi girl about Yu in quiet fury of knowing this heartbreaking truth…alone.

"It's all his fault… he already made up his mind …and yet he's just going to make you fall in love with him again, I know it. He'll abandon you without returning the same "pure" feelings. I'm going to do this for you, Yukiko-Sama. If I can KILL him… We'll be happy once more when it's done… We won't have to worry about him hurting us anymore… We don't need him or anyone else… I can be my own prince, if you let me…hehe…haha…HAHAHAHAHAHA! *snort*" The other self of Yukiko laughed and snorted manically but then she immediately stopped as she could have woken the normal Yukiko up, she really does care about her user's well-being even if she's like this right now. She waited for "them" to enter her castle. She stared at the bronze twin castle doors of the large throne room with angry eyes and a small frown… she also thought of Jiraiya and Yosuke too for a moment… she really wanted to get back at Jiraiya for all the annoying crap he did to her as a Persona and how his user was acting so desperate to get with Yukiko-sama, she had the chance to KILL both of them as well…for fun.

"I'm also going to enjoy stomping the toad and that pervert! Haha!" The shadow of Yukiko formed a devious smile on her face, she continued stroking her Yukiko-sama's hair for a while…

* * *

[Some Classroom on the 1st floor, almost lunch-time] [Because saying which classroom she's in will give away too much of the fun that's to come.]

After being helped by one of Narukami's friends to her student floor, Yumiko Shirasagi sat in the back of her classroom next to the window where the yellow sun was shining brightly throughout… the grey-haired girl with crimson eyes was doodling in her fresh notebook, she drew an image of Izanagi in his **Persona form** the best she could and after finishing the almost child-like drawing, she drew a crude-looking heart around it… she gazed at her work with a sad smile. A black butterfly appeared fluttering behind her…

"Was this always part of your plan? Or are you simply bored from sitting in that gas station for so long?" The black butterfly snarled at her, was she seriously focusing on trying to get back with her ex-husband instead of leading that boy to the Truth?

"I just wanted to see how much he has changed since the last time I saw him… I am still angry at how quickly he has moved on." Yumiko said under her breath to the shadowy butterfly. But what really bothered her about the Izanagi situation was this "Tomoe" ...whoever or whatever that figure was next to him. She looked out the window to the sunny countryside knowing the group of children were planning to go "in" today but decided not keep an "eye" on them this time since she wasn't in the mood right now… the black butterfly was quick to remind Yumiko of her ultimate goal before this whole "thing" she's doing gets out of hand.

"And because you're bored… just please don't let this foolishness sink your plan… I agreed to aid you with my service in granting humanity's desire in this second trial, remember?" The black butterfly unseen to humans fluttered in front of Yumiko, the grey-haired girl turned her head from the window to face it…

"Don't worry about it… so do you think I'm cute enough?" Yumiko said as she dismissed the butterfly's concerns, focusing instead on her new "Adorable" Body. Meanwhile the students around her had since stopped talking as first period began.

"What are you planning to do…? Wait… please don't tell me that you intend to "romance" the boy? Honestly?" The black butterfly exclaimed not wanting to believe that the so-called vengeful goddess was currently in the process of asking like a love-struck girl who simply wanted "senpai" to notice her. Yumiko hid her eyes from him as anger slowly began to boil in the pit of her stomach. He continued fluttering in front the clearly angry grey-haired goddess in disguise, in a quick and fluid motion…her hand shot out and pinched one of his wings between her delicately crafted fingers. He struggled to fly away from her in a panic… so she used her free hand to pin him onto her desk to prevent him from doing just that. She wasn't mad at anything he said in particular. He just failed to see that what she and **Izanagi** had was special and that **NOTHING** could or would get in her way. After all, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, doubly so if the woman was the goddess who practically started that trend.

"O-Okay, now you're just being a childish Idio-" The shadowy butterfly strained himself to talk back at her in his pinned position on her desk until he noticed something… suddenly there was a change in the atmosphere of the room, the class had gone quiet for some reason.

"What was that!? Do you even know how to talk to women!? …and n-no, I'm not going to romance him! He's going to romance-" A loudly whispering Yumiko at her desk scolded him for being very rude to her as well as answering his question h-hesitantly. She then noticed the class was too quiet for it to be a normal thing…she looked to the front of the class to see her classmates were all staring back at her with weirded-out or even scared expressions from the view of their desks… the grey-haired goddess had a sweat drop on her forehead as she realized that appearing to be talking to nothing in your hand will make you come off as a complete weirdo to humans… noted. The teacher standing in the front of the class spoke directly to her with a stern voice as he held a paper with some notes.

"Miss Shirasagi, is it? If you know class has started and have been paying attention… answer this question… which period in our history did the Genpei War took place?" The no nonsense teacher was trying to make an example of her listlessness for the class so they don't do the same… he waited impatiently for a reply as students looked on at Yumiko in worry and or even prayer for her to not look bad as the new kid here. She grew nervous as this was ACTUALLY her first day at a school ever.

"H-Huh? Oh…u-um…it took place in the…uh…" A stammering and shy Yumiko was in serious need of a bailout as all eyes were on her… she remembered that down in her hand… the black butterfly was just sitting there… maybe he could lend her a hand with this… but the insect was busy thinking about himself for a change.

"I can't believe this happening to me right now, where did I go wrong?" The shadowy butterfly pondered deeply about his decision to aid the "Shrinking Violet Goddess" as he remained pinned by her hand. He looked out to the same window with the sunny green countryside, he noticed a fluffy white cloud passing over it, his eyes began to follow it in contemplation of what his existence had become…he sighed quietly in conclusion as the fluffy cloud had left his view. He then returned his full attention to the embarrassing snag the goddess was in.

"H-Help, **Nyarlathotep**!" Yumiko squeaked to the shadowy butterfly in anxiety and sweat from the peer pressure, she couldn't look away from the mean-looking teacher staring at her with impatience. The students were on the edge of their seats watching to see if the new girl sinks or swims…

"…"

"How do you not know this? Aren't you a Japanese goddess?" The Eldritch God in the butterfly disguise was confused by her being unable to answer a question about her people… since this whole "masterplan" was to end their suffering in this world.

"That doesn't mean I actually paid attention to what mortals did...I had priorities after all…" She huffed in response, The Eldritch Butterfly wondered about what these "priorities" she was talking about… as he already knew that she died a young goddess and lived in the land of the dead until…the 70s.

"…I'm beginning to think that partnering with you was a mistake." Nyarlathotep remarked to the childish goddess, getting somewhat tired of this nonsense…

"Please...with a cherry on top?" The cute Yumiko begged him with fragile eyes, they looked as they were on the verge of tears if he didn't help her out, he was nonplussed by her act but ultimately decided to help her mainly out of pity.

"Ugh fine then…The **Heian period**." An exasperated black butterfly answered the girl as no one could hear him except her… he really didn't want to see anymore this "cringe fest". It was really painful to watch as it is now…

"THE HEIAN PERIOD!" A sweaty and nervous Yumiko shouted an answer to her teacher… her voice echoed throughout the quiet classroom… he folded his arms in response, he remained quiet after… the students waited to see what he'll say to that, is she wrong or not?

"Correct!" The now pleased teacher smiled brightly at the new girl for getting it right. The students in the class began to talk amongst themselves of their opinions about Yumiko as she stayed afloat for today…she seemed popular with the boys as they were gawking at her cuteness. Needless to say, Yumiko was relieved that she got the attention off… she looked down to her hand to the sitting butterfly…

"Whew… thanks! How did you know that?" Yumiko smiled brightly and asked the black butterfly who helped her succeed in class… he was still sitting in her hand because his wing was crippled by her tight pinch.

"I am the manifestation of humanity's worst and most destructive aspects… war is one of them." The black butterfly stated to Yumiko bluntly, a little peeved at her for getting all "emotional" like a woman does…geez, Yosuke much?

"The way you said that really comes off as anti-war, FAR OUT man!" A cheerful Yumiko teased the Eldritch God in his **butterfly form** with a peace sign, swinging her high knee socks under the desk like a 'cute' young girl would in happiness because she didn't stink on her first day… many more school days to come, unfortunately. The black butterfly was really non-plussed by her words and sighed again…

"I wonder why I have to deal with mere children again, the last time I was here on earth I was fighting adults who acted mature and actually wanted to be there… at least messing with Philemon helps a little." The black butterfly really disliked this whole situation but tried to stay optimistic… he was forced to aid her in the grand scheme.

"I see that you have the **murderer** working for us… against his will." A curious Yumiko told him silently as she decided to start taking notes from the class board, she was trying to come off as not so suspicious in her new role at school and daily life.

"Simply because his character resonates with my desires in this whole thing… a world of shadows where I am the master of humanity, this young man remains my pawn for you or else I'll take away the last thing he has... free will." The black butterfly declared to her boastfully, she continued taking notes mindlessly until...

*BING BONG*

The school bell rang as it was time for lunch… a hungry Yumiko pulled out a retro neo feather-man lunch box from her bag and set it on her desk to eat… she pulled out a "good-looking" sandwich and among other delicious things. She took a bite of the tasty sandwich with her small mouth… some blushing first year boys in the class were watching her eat like the bunch of perverts they are...

"You have got to be kidding me… did you really make food for these shenanigans?" The black butterfly wondered a bit about her food since it looked too good to be true…

"No… The women of Yomi are packing my food for me as a favor since I visited the land of dead again to tell them about all of this… they're cheering me on for the second trial of my experiment to succeed…" Yumiko smiled fondly at the thoughtfulness of her underworld friends as she ate their food… she really needed to learn how to cook for herself in order to impress the target surely… now back to our team of heroes!

* * *

[School Rooftop, Lunch-time]

Yu and his team of friends were sitting and eating lunch together on the school's roof under the bright sunny day. The Personas of the teens were off to the side of them and "floated" in a circle with each other, Izanagi and Jiraiya were explaining to Tomoe about how Adachi could be aware of the second cycle of the year…

"Based on how Adachi acted in our very first interaction with him, we believe The Killer is aware of this whole thing as much as Yu-san, which may become a problem in the future..." Jiraiya told the yellow cladded warrior in a hushed tone.

"Are you serious…? What should we do? What if he tries to hurt master or the others!?" A cautious Tomoe wondered about the situation with Adachi and asked her two male companions for any ideas, she became wary of what that pervert may do to her master and friends, she gazed over to her user from the circle with worry as Chie was mindlessly enjoying some of her mother's prepared steak sitting between Yu and Yosuke…

"I'm not sure honestly, it didn't seem like he was planning to do anything fishy…" Jiraiya told her with his arms folded in patience as he waited for Yosuke to finish up his own lunch, he too was worried about him as much as Tomoe was about Chie…

"We should at least keep a close eye on him and act accordingly if does he abuse knowledge of future events, for now let's wait for Konohana to come back so we have more strength on our side…" A serious Izanagi told the two of them with a tone of a confident leader, the two became determined for anything and nodded to him in agreement. Izanagi was in middle of reading a "certain manga" while also waiting for Yu to finish his lunch. He seemed eager to aid his partner Jiraiya with his love life, he had a gleeful expression as he read thoroughly to show for it. Tomoe gazed at his novel in wonder of what it was.

"Izanagi… uh, what is that?" A curious Tomoe pointed to the cute witch detective girl on the cover of the book, Izanagi explained cheerfully to her about it as he finished a page and flipped to another…

"I'm using this manual here to help Jiraiya win Konohana's favor and maybe change how she thinks of him too." A reading Izanagi then pointed with one of his clawed fingers to the Frog Ninja who jumped a bit as Tomoe's attention was turned toward him now, he became afraid of what she might do to him if she believed that he was trying to creep on their fiery friend.

"L-Look, let me explain! It's not how it sounds, really!" An embarrassed Jiraiya threw up his hands to Tomoe who had a skeptical look on her face, she couldn't believe what she was hearing and became dumbfounded at how "this" was their plan to win her friend Konohana's heart, ridiculous. Izanagi continued reading while his companions talked this out.

"Oh, Really?" A non-believing Tomoe placed her hands on her hips and demanded clarity from Jiraiya about what Izanagi had told her. The Frog Ninja flinched a little at the yellow-cladded warrior getting too close to his face as she wanted a quick answer from him also. Jiraiya composed himself and stood his ground to Tomoe as he wasn't ashamed anymore about it since it wasn't actually "romantic" love at all…at least not between them.

"I was helping Konohana give Yukiko-san a good normal teenage life because she made Yosuke more sure about his friendship with Yu-san, even after they became best of buds…my user continued to believe him and Yu-san weren't on equal ground with each other and he still felt he was inferior and felt jealous. Yukiko-san told him that if his love for all of his friends was stronger than his own awful thoughts about them, they would always be friends no matter what…" Jiraiya spoke and began pondering on what more to say as Tomoe and Izanagi began to actively listen to his words...

"After that talk, Yosuke wanted to thank Yukiko in his own way by becoming better friends than they were at that point. They began hanging out together without the team's knowledge… me and Konohana got along more as our users became familiar with what they both were going through at the time…" The Ninja frog stopped his speech for a moment to think more about what he should or should not say. His companions urged him to speak more about it, and so Jiraiya did with some difficulty in keeping his tone from going into gloominess…

"You guys knew that Yosuke worked with his family at Junes and Yukiko-san did the same with the Amagi inn, but the difference was that his parent's store was treated like a plague and was always blamed for the problems in this town compared to her family's inn which got nothing but respect from the outside and treated as the pride of Inaba… Yosuke admitted to Yukiko-san that he was jealous of the work life she had since her staff was like a big family compared to the relationship he had with his co-workers which they would always try to mooch off him for selfish gain. Both of them felt they were tied down by responsibilities by their families and so found comfort and understanding with each other…" Jiraiya spoke with sincerity in his voice and paused to gather more words to speak as Tomoe and Izanagi became astonished about these hidden truths about their friends' users. Izanagi had stopped reading his manga because of Jiraiya's honest words, He even discarded the "trashy love-story" entirely because of the "feels" he was getting from this…

"But Yukiko-san still had feelings for Yu-san even after he rejected her… both Yosuke and her couldn't be more than friends because of this… from then on my user was sad on the inside but looked happy to the others while Yukiko-san felt depressed because her feelings got in the way of something she could have had but then decided to mask her emotions so friends wouldn't pry her about it… and so ultimately Konohana and I returned to our routine of being an "old married couple..." Jiraiya finished with sad bitterness in his voice, his companions remained quiet and thought to themselves about all of this…until Izanagi spoke up.

"Were you and Konohana just pretending to hate each other all this time?" Izanagi asked his Frog Ninja friend out of curiosity, he didn't know what to think about "them" anymore…

"Mostly, but some of it was still pretty genuine, hehe…" Jiraiya laughed a little at the time he made Konohana trip over while she was saying her goodbyes…he really missed her dearly.

"Do you love her though?" Tomoe asked her froggy companion as she finished her thoughts about him and her fiery friend…

"I do but not in that way you'd think, it's not romantic love but rather something more platonic. When I became a shadow again, I was more upset about Konohana not achieving what she wanted for Yukiko-san than anything else. Konohana believed that a prince would give her girl a better happier life. Yosuke wanted to be that prince for Yukiko-san because of what she said to him in the past but her own heart break from Yu-san's rejection shattered all of that. Now though, I have this chance too and I want both me and Konohana to try this out once more for our users' happiness…" Jiraiya admitted on how he really felt toward the fiery persona to his two friends finally, Tomoe began thinking about Jiraiya's feelings about Konohana more considerably.

"I'm so sorry…" An apologizing Izanagi spoke quietly to Jiraiya, The Japanese God bowed his head in forgiveness for Yu but Jiraiya lifted up his pal's shoulders with his froggy hands and spoke with a more upbeat tone, I guess letting it all out really helps, huh?

"I don't blame Yu-san anymore… him and Yosuke are best buddies after all and we are too, so cheer up man!" Jiraya then proceeded to hug Izanagi tightly and the two personas began to embrace each other "bromantically" with Tomoe adoring them for a while, she wanted to suggest on what Jiraiya should do with his feelings and they separated themselves to hear what she was going to say.

"You have to tell Konohana this yourself, it's not from the heart if Izanagi and I help out… but we'll be right behind cheering you on!" An enthusiastic Tomoe gave her froggy companion a fierce thumbs up with her gloved hand for luck on his personal journey.

"Thanks Tomoe, I hope you can do the same with your love for this guy!" Jiraiya shielded his mouth from where his partner was floating and loudly whispered to the Yellow-cladded warrior in a teasing voice, wishing her luck as well on that journey too. She became flustered as Izanagi gazed at her with gentle touched eyes… her heart couldn't take it just yet… the personas all returned to their users' classroom, feeling like they understood each other a bit more. Today would be their first attempt to rescue Yukiko from her castle…

* * *

Omake #2

[Port Island station, Tatsumi Port Island]

{-WAY OF LIFE-}

The "protagonist group" were walking by the station to the SCREENSHOT theater to see whatever was playing since they all decided to spend the day with each other to get away from the apparent craziness of the Velvet room and their respective journeys.

"Man, the times have changed…" Naoya the 90's teen spoke with a Wild Duck burger to-go bag in hand, took a view of the whole station behind the others as they walked. An annoyed Tatsuya was behind Yu and Minato as the pair were walking beside each other silently following a "happily blushing" Minako who held hands with the "weirded out but positive-faced" Reporter from the early 2000's.

"Geez, all that stuff that happened at Igor's still bothers me…" Tatsuya grumbled to himself as the young man stared at the ground a little as he walked, Yu heard him out and spoke from in front of his Senpai as he looked toward the theater.

"Just get your mind off it, Tatsuya-senpai…want to talk a bit to help?" Yu looked behind him with a bright smile, Tatsuya looked up at the sunshine boy in curiosity as to why is he so cheery in his time of personal journey… Tatsuya had observed Yu and his group back there during the incident, and told him what he thought about them.

"The Lovers in your group of Persona users sure is clingy…" Tatsuya spoke to him in a joking manner, Yu began to look a little down about what his senpai said, dealing with Rise's affectionate attitude was no easy task.

"Y-Yeah, I've been trying to let her down gently since I'm already with someone…" Yu thought of his cute Kung-Fu loving girlfriend to cheer himself up from his bummed out state of mind. Minato saw the same spunky girl in Yu's group as well and she also reminded him of his own senpai Akihiko.

"She seems like she's always full of energy…must be tiring huh?" A joking Minato nudged his younger friend as Yu stammered a bit from his teasing, Tatsuya spoke again to Yu about that too.

"She likes Kung-Fu right?" Is she a fan of Bruce Lee too?" Tatsuya asked his younger kohai, Yu looked at him with curiosity of what he said.

"You have someone like that…?" Yu became weirded out more on how all of them were similar by the people they hang out with.

"Yeah… Lisa Silverman, she's a lot like that "Idol" girl of your group and she's also The Lovers Arcana…" As Tatsuya spoke about her, Yu began to look distraught as if someone merged Chie and Rise together in a fusion.

"What kind of messed up place do you come from!?" Yu panicked a little inside at the thought of Rise taking over Chie's personality to get close to him, Maya noticed his distraught tone and turned towards the grey-haired boy and decided to cheer him up with a method of hers, she had released Minako's hand for this.

"Come on Yu-kun! Don't worry or Mr. Bun-Bun will tease you about it!" A childish-sounding Maya showed him an old but cute stuffed rabbit of hers, Maya Imitated small bunny hops in the air between her stuffed animal and Yu, he began to strangely feel better at her "weirdness", Tatsuya smiled gently at them. Naoya and Minato were "weirded out" by Maya's occasional relaxing method, Minako thought the rabbit was so adorable!

"Really strange how a grown woman keeps that around with her…" An "off-handed" Naoya had a hand to his chin observing Miss Amano and turned his head to Tatsuya to see if he agreed.

"Yeah, you have a point…" Tatsuya agreed with him bluntly, Maya became embarrassed by Naoya's words and her childhood friend not backing her up.

"C-Come on! You like it too!" An upset and blushing Maya had an accusing finger to her partner as she held the stuffed rabbit in her other hand, suddenly Minako took away her stuffed rabbit and held it close to her face, adoring it.

"Maya-senpai, he's so cute! Can I hold him for a bit?!" Minako nuzzled her face to the body of the stuffed rabbit as Maya reacted in panic to her Kohai taking it away so suddenly.

"M-Minako-chan please, I need him with me… g-give him back…" Maya held out her hand impatiently to her younger kohai with some blush still on her face, Minako responded by pushing her face closer to "him" with a happy expression.

"I think I might keep him as a token of remembrance to my personal hero!" Minako decided to tease her senpai a bit in good fun, a flustered Maya began trying to take Mr. Bun-bun back by force and in response, Minako kept avoiding her senpai's grasp by constantly dodging the reporter, the boys watched them with amused faces…but Minato decided to stop his sister's teasing.

"Come on, Minako…give the grown woman her toy rabbit…" Minato was harshly blunt to an already embarrassed Maya but was really just trying to keep her positive, Yu and the others kept quiet in order to not anger Maya anymore, but they all snickered a bit at her reaction to Minako's teasing.

"Geez Minato, you never let me have my fun!" Minako stuck her tongue at her older brother and began dashing away from the station, she went up the stairs to the terminal with panicked Maya running after her. Minato was annoyed that it's now up to them to stop this whole shenanigan. Tatsuya spoke to them as they were being left behind quickly by the two females.

"Let's get after them guys! I don't want Maya to go all apeshit on Minako!" Tatsuya began chasing after his partner and the SEES girl to the terminal, Yu and Naoya nodded to each other and followed him quickly as they left Minato by himself as he was thinking while looking at the big sign of the movie they were going to see.

"Man, I really wanted to see this…" A bummed out Minato gazed at the sign reading " _Persona 3 The Movie",_ he then heard Maya shouting from a distance as she chased Minako into the terminal.

"GIVE BACK MY MR. BUN-BUN MINAKO-CHAN!" Maya was shaking her fist at a giddy Minako. Minato sighed to himself and stuffed his hands into his pockets, he began his chase to stop his sister from causing any more trouble.

* * *

Author's Notes: I wanted to flesh out the whole dilemma as much as I can. The Next Chapter will be all about the Castle Dungeon because it's better for me if I can space things out than crank these things in one go.

Yumiko Shirasagi is an alias taken as a nod to the female heroine in the first megami tensei game...

Side Notes for THE NEXT CHAPTER:

-Teddie opens a Chest! Panic and death!

-Yu meets "The Big Good" that is all...

-Orobas is asked about Jiraiya's love life, he's confused by something with that...what is it?

-Izanagi uses Ziodyne in the early game.


	18. Chapter 18

Midnight Channel Boss: **SHADOW YUKIKO, Part 1** – Chapter 18

{April 18, 2011} {Sunny}

[Inaba, After School]

Yu, Yosuke, and Chie were all at their desks as school ended for today. The Junes boy and Spunky girl were pondering if they were really ready to go back inside The TV World again, though they ultimately left that decision up to their Leader…

"Yo, Yu… wanna head over to Teddie's?" Yosuke asked him with arms folded while sitting at his desk. The expression on his face showed worry for Yukiko, the grey-haired boy then turned toward Chie to see what she wanted to do even if he already knew the answer…

"Yukiko…" A visibly-distressed Chie spoke the name of her best friend, she gazed up at Yu from her desk with sad puppy dog eyes in order to convince her leader to go in the TV to rescue the Amagi girl as soon as possible. Yu needless to say, would have totally said "Yes! Let's go!" to her in a heartbeat but knew they needed provisions and gear for the castle dungeon.

"We'll go later today, I need to get some stuff for us so we'll be prepared to save your friend, I'll call you guys when I'm at Junes…so for right now, steel yourselves for whatever we face, okay?" The Fool told the Chariot and Magician with a confident and stern tone of a real leader. The two nodded in agreement. Chie spoke up from her spot as Yu turned to leave the classroom.

"Thanks, Yu-kun!" Chie sounded relieved and then put on a determined looking face, Yu gazed back at her and smiled gently to see the spunky girl like this again, feeling nostalgic all of the sudden.

"Yeah, okay! We'll be waiting for your call, partner!" An excited Yosuke was very willing to get back in there with Jiraiya again, Yu smiled at him too and nodded in reply, they parted ways with their leader…Yu slid the back classroom door behind him, a hot-blooded Izanagi spoke in his mind to get him pumped for the long day ahead.

"Ready to face the funky student for some chest keys he's holding once more?" Izanagi asked his user, Yu put on his game face and responded to his Persona.

"I'm ready! Let's begin!" An also hot-blooded Yu spoke out loud, it seemed very random to other students in the hallway who heard him say that. The grey-haired boy then ran up the staircase to play some word games with the infamous afro-wearing student. After winning against his senpai slick riddles, he headed quickly to the shopping district to buy cans of Tap-soda and sell materials to Daidara to craft some new art for the team. He then made his way to his partner's dad's Department store and arrived at the food court.

* * *

[Junes Food Court, After School]

Yu called the others to Junes, they sat at their usual round table at the food court just outside the shopping area. An anxious Chie spoke up from her seat to the others.

"Okay, is everyone here?" Chie spoke to the boys on the opposite side of the table. Tomoe stood right behind her master with nagata at the ready…

"First Saki-senpai, and now Yukiko-san. I never thought we'd get involved in a case like this... Hey, what about Mayumi Yamano? Man, these people really do forget that easily." A miffed Yosuke spoke from his side, Jiraiya was behind him too and nodded seriously in agreement with his user's words.

"Don't talk like Yukiko's already dead!" An irritated Chie scolded Yosuke for talking that way about their friend.

"I know, I know. Calm down. Unfortunately, there's a time limit-we have to save Yukiko-san before the fog sets in." Yosuke told his two friends.

"Weather Report?" Yu asked the spunky girl sitting across from him.

"I think the weekly forecast was..." Chie told them the weather, it was going to be mostly cloudy for the week, Yosuke was skeptical of her ability to remember that…

"Hey, you're sure, right?" Yosuke questioned the spunky girl about it, since he assumed that his friend only has meat on her mind.

"Yeah. There's no way I made a mistake. I double-checked!" The steak-loving Chie was confident, she turned toward Yu to back her up. The leader quietly believed her with a nod of his head, Izanagi had his arms folded like a cool guy behind his user. They all went silent for moment thinking…until one of them spoke up on something they feel strongly about.

"Man, I was right about you having too many movies in your head, Chie…" A causal-sounding Yosuke said off-handedly to the spunky girl as he gazed up from his seat at the tall obviously Kung Fu-inspired Amazon woman behind her.

Tomoe became visibly offended by the Junes boy belittling her master. She then looked questioningly at Jiraiya who shrugged in a way that comes across as "I'm not responsible for what he says, don't look at me…" Chie angrily spoke in defense of her Persona.

"Hey, at least Tomoe shows who I am on the inside, I can't even figure out on why yours looks so weird!" Chie began glaring at the insensitive Junes boy and pointed to the silly-looking frog man behind him.

A silently laughing Tomoe looked on at Jiraiya again now with an expression that could only be described as "Ha, Take That!". Yosuke came to his Ninja Frog's aid the best he could…which was with low-blow remarks.

"Weird!? He's cooler-looking than Bruce Lee!" A petty Yosuke shouted out to Chie… **OH HE HAD NOW JUST CROSSED THE LINE DAMMIT!** The meat-loving fangirl became visibly angry as she sat across from him at the table.

The pair of vitriolic friends began arguing loudly more about the other's Persona. Tomoe and Jiraiya armed themselves up behind their own respective users, the two got into an intense stare down with each other…

Yu grew exasperated by his friend's occasional bickering, he sighed and silently watched them since it would "probably" end soon… Izanagi sensed his user's annoyance and spoke up on his behalf to his two arguing companions…

"Yosuke-san, Chie-san, we must make haste to save your friend…" As Izanagi spoke calmly and sternly to them, the pair of vitriolic friends suddenly stopped shouting at each other at the sound his voice. Their personas stopped too as they listened in on their users' first real direct interaction with Yu's Persona.

"Whoa, I never heard you speak before, your voice sounds so smooth, mysterious…" A fascinated Chie spoke to Izanagi honestly with a pleasant smile, Tomoe said something quietly under her breath behind her master...

"And quite attractive too…" A not trying to sound infatuated Tomoe spoke quietly on how she felt about the Japanese God's voice, Chie had managed to hear her Persona clearly and jumped a little at the implications of her inner personality saying such things, she blushed a little at thought and questioned her Persona about it…

"Ah, Tomoe did you say something?" A nervous Chie turned her head up to the tall yellow-cladded warrior in question.

"Oh It's nothing master...nothing at all!" Tomoe said sheepishly waving off to Chie below her, Izanagi was visibly flattered to hear that, he turned toward Yosuke for his thoughts.

"Yeah I agree with Chie, I think it sounds very melodic and makes you feel calm and safe… I guess you really are my partner's Persona, hehe…" Yosuke complimented Izanagi with a nice smile, Jiraiya agreed with his user, giving a thumbs up to the Japanese God.

"I'm flattered by you all but we really must hurry for Yukiko-san's sake." Izanagi told them seriously, Yu gazed up to his Persona and agreed with him.

"Izanagi's right, let's go!" Yu spoke to the others with determination, and they proceeded to enter inside the TV for their first attempt to save Yukiko…while a young goddess in disguise studied at the school's library.

* * *

[Entrance Hall, The Midnight Channel]

The trio of persona users fell right into the black and white TV screen-shaped wormhole and came out from the stacked Television sets one by one onto the hard floor of the entrance hall… once again. They landed on top of each other in very awkward positions… just like last time and the one before that too… Yu was really serious thinking of getting either Teddie or Yosuke to shove a Junes mattress down in the near future.

A cheery Bear was waiting for them to come back… they stood up and placed on their stylish eyewear to see better in this foggy place.

"Hey, there you are, let's play! Huh? Wait…Oh, yeah, that's right! Let's go save the lost girl! I'll take you to the castle! Let me know when you're ready, Sensei. Leave it to me to show the way!" Teddie had a pleasant smile on for them...

"I wonder if Yukiko's okay...She's all alone now, isn't she?" Chie grew more worried for her best friend…

"No matter what happens, we gotta keep calm. Cause we're the only ones who can save Yukiko-san..." Yosuke told her in an effort to lighten her mood, Yu dug into his pocket…and pulled out the Velvet Key it began shining a bright blue light...

"Huh? Whoa! What is this? Sensei?" The interested bear went up to the tall grey-haired boy holding a strange key in his hand.

Teddie gazed upon the key as it glowed in his sensei's hand. Yosuke and Chie became curious of the key too and walked up to their leader to see it glow even more brightly…

"Oh Man, Where'd you get this…Yu?" Yosuke asked with a surprised expression, he was still gazing at the key in his partner's hand.

"Yeah, it's very glowy…it's not your house key, is it?" A naïve Chie questioned Yu, the Junes boy rolled his eyes at the girl as it's definitely no house key he's seen before…The spunky girl's innocent curiosity made Yu chuckle a bit in amusement.

"Hehe, no…but this key is something special…wait here." Yu told them calmly with a smile as he began to stare out into a corner of the entrance hall… a mysterious blue door emerged seemingly out of nowhere…

The others became amazed of this strange happening and questioned the Fool about it, he began making his way to the door…

"Wait here for me, I'll make it quick so we can get going..." Yu's answer was pretty vague to them as he continued his way to the door…

"Make what quick? What's going on?" Yosuke grew concerned about this weird-looking door, Chie spoke out to Yu as he reached it…

"Geez you're really are full of mysteries… but I do have a feeling that something in there can help us, so we'll stay here for you, right guys?" Chie trusted him even if she didn't know why, lots of questions piled up in her head… but she stayed patient and waited for this whole thing to be over with so she can question him about everything. The grey-haired boy turned toward them as he was about to enter…

"Yeah, I'll explain all of this at a later time… trust me." Yu smiled at them and turned away to insert the key into the mysterious blue door and opened it... a bright white light came out from its frame, The Fool entered the white light and disappeared from his friends' view…

"I trust sensei, I'm sure he's getting prepared to save that girl for you guys!" Teddie optimistically declared to them, they nodded in agreement but still weren't sure how to feel until their leader came out...

* * *

Yu found himself sitting again in the luxurious Velvet room in the back seat of this ongoing limo ride, the now three people living in this realm were gazing at their guest as he came to use their service once more… Margaret had a book on her lap…she had finally found his compendium after searching what seemed like forever….

"I've found your compendium for use, it's fully completed (save for a few pages…gotta get those social links!) so any discounts you have will stick…" A happy-sounding Margaret gave her guest a pleasant smile compared to Marie's frown at him, Igor stayed quiet for a while...he was in deep thought for something.

"Oh… You came. You must come here a lot, huh. Whatcha want this time? A Persona? A Skill Card? It doesn't matter to me." A Blunt Marie had made the Japanese god in Yu's head groan in displeasure of her attitude, though his user put up a smile for her since he wanted all of them to get along… or at least tolerate each other.

"...Excuse us. Marie, you must learn to restrain yourself." Margaret told her like an authority figure, the unfriendly girl responded to her rudely.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Stupiduptightblockheadtwerp." Marie frowned and looked away from Margaret like a stubborn child, even Yu started to roll his eyes a little in annoyance at this display.

(sigh) "I apologize sincerely. She is far too unruly for me to handle." Margaret told her guest sincerely, Yu smile gently at The Attendant to show that he understood…

"I feel for you." Yu told her genuinely, feeling her growing pains. Margaret smiled a bit in amusement at his words.

(chuckle) "You are quite right. However, this is all to help you on your journey." Margaret told him in response, he had a curious expression.

"What do you mean?" Yu questioned her words, feeling this was about that trendy grunge girl... was she really important this 2nd time around?

"This room is inseparable from your fate. Nothing in this room happens without purpose… Encountering one who is not of man, and communicating with her...Your fate has led you to this meeting." Margaret explained more.

"One who is not of man?" Yu questioned that part…he gazed a bit at Marie, who became visibly confused as to why this boy is staring at her, he then gazed over to Margaret for more info.

"Indeed. This room is the crossroads of your fates. You, the customer, and she who is not of man, who has wandered into this place. Where will this meeting lead? Excuse me for saying so, but we, too, are a bit interested in the outcome. Though she was in this land before you, in the end, Marie is not of man... In other words, her understanding of the world in which you live is incomplete. Therefore, I ask of you to please take her outside this room, if you would. But, of course, you are occupied at the moment, visiting the interior of the television world. Please ask her to go with you when you have time on your hands…okay, Marie?" Margaret looked over to the unfriendly girl for confirmation…

Marie stared intently at Yu for some strange reason, Yu gazed over to Marie because he caught her looking at him and became confused as to why she's doing that… and also he could have sworn her eyes were green and not grey as they are now…

"Wh... Whatever...Never mind." The unfriendly girl in reply to Margaret, she became embarrassed and blushed a little at the grey-haired boy for some reason…he gotten that Marie seemed interested in leaving this place…

Yu guessed he should speak with her once he has left the TV world... he wanted to give Margaret a few hours of peace and quiet for her efforts of finding his book of summons…well most of it.

"Could I get Orobas?" Yu asked The Velvet Attendant for one of his registered personas, planning to use this creepy red horseman to support the team in battle.

Margaret opened the book on her lap and finger scrolled to search for the horseman's... After finding the demon's name, she then summoned the Magician Persona for her guest… He appeared in his user's mind… showing off his uncanny human hands.

"Hello again, my conjurer…. It's good to see you!" A surprised Orobas spoke in Yu's mind. The horse man was not aware of what exactly happened to the human world outside this realm, so Izanagi would have to get him up to speed…but later...since he was about to leave Yu's head.

"Okay Izanagi, I'll see you strong once again…" Yu quietly told his initial persona's weaker state, the God bid his sincere farewell even if it was for a second...

The Fool hesitantly dismissed Izanagi from his mind… they had become so close on the previous journey that being away from each other even for a bit didn't feel good at all…

"May I have Izanagi again?" Yu asked Margaret to summon his initial Persona with the great power received through the countless fusions he did… The Velvet Attendant easy retrieved the Japanese God for her guest as it was among the first names in the compendium.

Izanagi appeared in Yu's mind once more. The Fool became astonished as he had forgotten the massive power given to his Persona through his close bonds with people. Izanagi's upper body had a more heroic build hidden under his black long coat, his shoulders were also broader. Izanagi felt stronger than before, a laid back Orobas observed him from a distance and gave the God a thumbs up with his creepy human hand, Izanagi nodded to him with a cheerful expression. The Japanese God remembered something that he needed to warn his user of…

"Thou may become exhausted quickly since thy body isn't adjusted to my current power right now... so please don't rely on using me too much…" Izanagi was concern for his user's wellbeing… he didn't want Yu to push himself…

"I'll use you only when we're in a tough fight… since this world has changed a lot, it'll probably be very soon…" Yu wondered about the possible changes in the castle dungeon... he wanted to be cautious for anything that wasn't there before...

Igor stared intently at Margaret's guest in order to tell him something important, Yu felt the long-nosed man's eyes and faced him to hear what he wanted to say.

"The Reaper is lurking where you are to venture in and remember that you must not challenge him in your current state or you will perish…horribly. I'll give you some advice for the trip: be wary of chests…" Igor warned his guest out of concern for his wellbeing. Despite his high courage, Yu was a little wary of this particular shadow…

"Oh Boy, this is going to be 'fun' again …but at least all of you are with me for this whole thing…and Marie too, hehe." Yu told them sincerely while teasing the new and still unfriendly girl a little, she stuck her tongue at him for being a dumbjerkface…

They waved their goodbyes, the guest soon left the three beings by themselves, gosh what a dysfunctional family this was indeed.

* * *

[Entrance Hall, The Midnight Channel]

"Oh Sensei! You're back!" Teddie peered out from the group seeing Yu had come out the mysterious door. Chie and Yosuke wondered in curiosity of what was exactly in that place…but remembered that their leader promised to tell them after this was done. A more powerful Izanagi emerged from Yu's body…Yosuke and Jiraiya sensed his new found strength very quickly.

"Whoa partner, your persona is WAY stronger now…" An amazed Yosuke seeing that his partner's persona seemed more 'jacked' than before.

The Junes boy guessed it had to do with something behind that really weird door. Jiraiya knew the answer already but would let Yu explain to them later. Seeing Izanagi like this again made the Ninja Frog yearn for the days when he was 'Susanoo' because at the time, he was a very super cool guy to Yosuke...

"Looking good man!" Jiraiya told his own partner with enthusiasm, more eager to get strong again…

"Thank you… and don't worry I'll protect all of you." Izanagi told the group sincerely, Yosuke really wanted to know how Yu got so strong in a flash…what's his secret?

"How did you do this? …You think you could hook me up too?" A curious Yosuke folded his arms as he waited patiently for an answer from him.

"Like I said, I'll explain later… remember we promised Chie to save Yukiko as soon as possible, Izanagi's new power can make that easier." Yu told his partner and looked over to Chie who nodded with a smile on her face, he was very considerate of her worries…

"Yeah that's right! And just because Yu-kun is stronger now doesn't mean we can't get strong too, right Tomoe?" An excited Chie gazed over to Tomoe and found her yellow warrior persona was distracted by Izanagi's sexier and well-developed body…a sweat drop appeared on Chie's head.

The Yellow-Cladded warrior woman scanned the manly Japanese God from top to bottom, thinking that his new form filled out his long coat nicely. Tomoe was becoming all hot and bothered because she was more attracted to him now than before…

Chie called over to her again quickly for her to regain some decency before Yu could see her persona's shameful staring at his own persona… After a while of gawking at her secret boyfriend's powered up and HOT body, Tomoe quickly responded to her now visibly-embarrassed user.

"Oh Ah, YES! You're right master! We can't let Izanagi and Yu-kun take all the glory!" Tomoe and Chie pumped themselves up for the castle raid to save their best friends.

Yosuke and Jiraiya observed that they had to needed to get strong too so they can impress chicks, the dynamic Ninja duo geared themselves for whatever was to come… both of them doing heroic action poses… Yu and Izanagi stood proudly together with full confidence that the can face anything… Teddie saw that they were ready to head the dungeon…

"Okay, I'll show you guys the way!" The cheerful bear led the group from the entrance hall to the girl's castle, they did not think that Teddie's naivety with "strangers" would get them in a serious jam later on...

The grey-haired boy sensed a strange but familiar feeling where they were at before and proceeded to look over his shoulder as they walked away from the entrance hall, he saw Philemon in his butterfly form fluttering in a corner…

Yu gulped a little as he grew cautious of what that meant… but The Fool didn't let the feeling of fear overwhelm him as he needed to be a leader right now for the castle dungeon ahead…

* * *

[Central Shopping District North, Evening]

A tired Yumiko Shirasagi trudged home with an unrealistically heavy school bag after spending hours at the library covering all the things that Nyarlathotep had deemed necessary for her to know in order to fit in the modern age of humans. The shadowy butterfly advised her to learn more about humanity's history because he couldn't always help her out...No matter how many times she whined to him about it.

"Ugh, sometimes I forget that humanity exists outside the lands Izanagi and I founded. Why do humans have to know sooo much... it's ridiculous, why do I need to know about some Greek guy named So-Crates? Is that how you pronounce it?" The grey-haired Goddess honestly told the shadowy butterfly fluttering around her. Nyarlathotep decided to make a joke at her expense for making him stay in that library with her…

"Just don't let the Knowledge of Madmen you've discovered create "eyes" on the inside of your head or lest it drive you away from your true goal…romancing a teenager, how ridiculous." Nyarlathotep laughed. Yumiko wondered what the hell he was referring to while she ignored his teasing…

"What do you mean "Madman's knowledge" and "eyes" on the inside? If you ask me that in and of itself sounds mad." Yumiko remarked to the black shadowy butterfly.

"Oh, it's just an old inside joke...my colleagues and I have come up with a few about them... I believe it's been at least two millennia now since they all perished. I might as well tell you about it, the joke regards some humans that lived on a completely different plane of existence from you all. These humans wished to ascend to our level of Godhood, hehe… it was just ridiculous… they went crazy mad trying to do so!" Nyarlathotep boosted this brutal truth to his young client about a different group of humanity. Even though, there was one who somehow managed to do just that and maintain his sanity.

"Hmm, I wonder if these humans try to obtain the knowledge you Eldritch Gods have because they simply desire to know everything about their existence…" Yumiko debated Mr. black shadowy butterfly man of this possibility, the terrible God scoffed at her in response…

"Humans are flawed because of just that, their lust for knowledge drives them so far into the darkest reaches of the cosmos that it ultimately either leads to calamity or simply more questions. If they simply accept their small insignificant existences and the darkness in their hearts, they could live much easier and simpler lives... as my slaves of course..." Nyarlathotep remarked to her again as they headed on their way. An annoyed Yumiko spoke up on her beliefs for what was easier for humanity to live their lives to her partner.

"Whatever my children desire for this world, I will grant them because I actually **CARE** about their well-being unlike you, and remember that you must help me do this for them even if it's not aligned with your desires as well." Yumiko called the old god out, speaking up for her people.

"I know already; you don't have to remind me of this dreadful contract we've signed together… So when do we get to meet the group of children that gave your previous chosen one so much trouble?" The fluttering black butterfly asked her, she put a cute expression on her face in response and spoke.

"Hanamura-senpai told me I could hang out with him and his friends at some restaurant later this month...on a rainy day." Yumiko said putting on the shy and timid first year girl routine revealing in how much it seemed to annoy the elder god, and it was behavior like this that almost made Nyarlathotep wish that he had the company of that annoying **Paleblood**. As much as that doll-obsessed god sympathized with humanity at least he still knew how to exploit the weaknesses that lay within the human heart and mind, even if he kept his human form after his unexpected accession.

Meanwhile, Yumiko really was having a ball with this disguise compared to what she was doing in the last cycle. The grey-haired girl walked slowly on the road to get back to the gas station on the south side, her feet were hurting from going this long way by foot since she didn't know how to use public transportation. Being human really sucks…

"I wish I had a better place to rest…" A whimpering Yumiko said to herself quietly as she arrived at the Moel Gas station, Nyarlathotep not far behind. Which was when an idea that seemed hilarious for him but probably not for his pawn came to surface...

"I do know a place in this town where you can stay if you're really up for it." Nyarlathotep began laughing manically at the thought…Yumiko wondered if this place had a comfy bed instead of the chair she would sit in while working at Moel.

"Really? but I don't want to intrude on anyone living there…" Yumiko seemed up for it since its beats sleeping at a gas station all night, she wondered who this place belonged too, she would soon regret this choice.

"Oh trust me, he's always busy with work so you'll be like roommates." The shadowy butterfly spoke with enthusiasm for this despicable housing plan, he really enjoyed torturing Adachi stealthy…Yumiko followed the butterfly's directions carefully to his pawn's apartment at this time of day.

* * *

[Adachi's small and plain apartment complex, Evening]

Magatsu-Izanagi was preparing a stew in the small kitchen of his user. He was wearing a rather cheap 'Junes brand' apron over his heavy red long coat. Adachi was slumped on the couch in the living room watching TV with a bored expression on his face trying his best to unwind after getting chewed out once again by Detective Dojima for what was it this time? Getting the wrong blend of coffee? Or some shit like that. The young detective behind the TV murders could smell the aroma coming from the kitchen, it was wonderful…but unfortunately way too familiar.

"Cabbage stew again? fan-friggin tastic…" Adachi said with the lack of enthusiasm clearly showing in his voice as his reverse Persona finished making their dinner for the night. The God of calamity went over into the living room and gently set a plate of food on the small table in front of the young detective.

"it's a lot healthier than eating all that instant slop that humans tend to crave for. Honestly I wouldn't feed that to a pig…" Magatsu-Izanagi remarked to his user with a reserved tone, feeling really unappreciated given all the cooking he had been doing lately.

"Hey don't take it so personally, geez never said it was a bad thing, but is this seriously all that you know how to make?" An ungrateful-sounding Adachi then dug into his cabbage dinner while sitting on the couch. The God of calamity sat down beside him the Junes apron still tied around his waist, as of late he had been growing increasingly frustrated with how… ungrateful and just plain rude Adachi had been since his meeting with that eldritch butterfly.

"Maybe if a certain someone didn't pick up the same thing every day at Junes…" Magatsu-Izanagi said criticizing Adachi's unnatural affinity for the green vegetable under his breath.

"Cabbage is cheap and since they pay me jack shit, we're gonna be eating this for a while…" The young detective shot back at the black and crimson-colored god, his voice mirroring the persona's attitude almost to a tee...

"Well, don't complain then…" The God of calamity told his user while as Adachi began scarfing down the freshly made soup, a sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation as they both turned to face the door curious as to who would be at the door this late at night…

"…"

"Ugh, I'll get it." Adachi said as he got up to see who the hell it was and looked into the peephole of his door to see out in the hallway, only to find...Nyarlathotep standing in front of his door smiling deviously his image slightly distorted from the peephole glass. As well as...a grey haired teenage girl? wait what?

The young detective began to panic on the inside, what did he want? why was he here? not good not good…

"Who is it?" A nervous Magastu-Izanagi asked, hiding behind the couch.

"Shit… it's him again…and he brought a brat with him." An uneasy Adachi said in hushed tone… he reluctantly opened the door for them. Magatsu-Izanagi stood up and went behind his user in a panic slightly intimidated by the Crawling Chaos's awful presence.

"Hello Adachi! How is my favorite meat puppet doing on this fine spring evening? Do you happen to have room for this adorably young-" Nyarlathotep in his preferred human form was then cut off by a slamming door by a courageous Adachi, leaving them in the dank hallway… The young detective/serial killer really did not want to deal with this tonight.

"You're leaving me with him!?" Yumiko angrily glared at the eldritch God as she saw a familiar face. Nyarlathotep rolled his eyes at her complaining, honestly this was a least slightly better than a gas station chair even if it mostly was for his own cruel amusement.

"You said you were up for anything right?" Nyarlathotep said with the smile not leaving his face, reminding her of what she said just minutes before they came here, the young Goddess became embarrassed as that was true…

"Yeah but not if I'm staying with Mr. Creepy Raper Guy!" Yumiko shouted indiscreetly to the eldritch God in the apartment hallway. The young detective ignored her outlandish remark as he headed back to the couch and ate more of the cabbage stew, trying his best to pretend they were not there. His reverse Persona remaining by the door, listening carefully to what the pair were saying.

"Didn't he just throw women into the TV?" Nyarlathotep asked trying his best to aggravate the tiny goddess. He had no idea that playing with these creatures would be so much fun, he could see why Cthulhu enjoyed it so much…

"Well…yeah but honestly I wouldn't put that past him…" Yumiko argued and turned her back to him with her arms folded pouting like a child.

A faint "I heard that." could be heard through the door…

The eldritch God sighed in annoyance of her being even more childish, he couldn't tell if it was part of the cute girl act or not… he proceeded to knock on his pawn's door again, really wanting to ditch the grey-haired Goddess now more than ever.

"Remember the free will of humanity!? I can still take that away at the drop of a hat! Are you listening!? Mr. Business suit McRapepants, yours will be gone in an instant if you don't open this door!" Nyarlathotep barked to Adachi as he knocked furiously.

Magatsu-Izanagi slowly opened the door against his user's wishes, though he was just trying to protect him by following the eldritch God's demands in order to not get their souls taken to who knows where… an irritated eldritch God then stepped into the apartment with a visibly annoyed imouto-like Goddess following him.

"What the hell do you want now?" An exasperated Adachi stopped eating his delicious cabbage and stood up to face the unwanted guests. The young detective glared at the shadowy man with golden eyes who went by the surname Kashihara (really just Nyarlathotep in human disguise…)

"I simply want you to provide her a home for a while as she goes to school." Kashihara gestured down to the grey-haired teenage girl beside him, his pawn gazed down at the girl with a skeptical look on his face as she forced a cute smile trying her best to have to avoid sleeping in a chair at the gas station.

"What is she to you and why should I care?" Adachi asked angrily, not buying into the girl's cuteness at all… if anything he thought it was annoying, the detective didn't have that kind of alleged sister complex like that grey haired boy, maybe who knows! Pretty sure he was more in to tomboys anyway…

"This is Yumiko Shirasagi, she's...my niece and she wants to experience normal human life for a change." Kashihara lied to his pawn about her true identity. The young Goddess gazed over to her partner in wonder as to why was he lying to Adachi about that if he's part of their grand scheme too…

The young detective eyed the strange girl again skeptically. The grey-haired Goddess oddly enough began to feel slightly uncomfortable under his glare. Adachi noticed that she was wearing the same school uniform as those brats…

"We don't have room here." Adachi stated bluntly gesturing to his admittedly small apartment, his reverse Persona doing his best to discreetly hide the fact that they had a guest room...

The Eldritch God turned around and started walking to the door of the apartment wanting to get out of this drivel as quickly as possible. Nyarlathotep spoke out to his pawn one last time as he reached the doorway.

"I'll check in with you idiots from time to time…some advice because I know how you get when rejected by women… don't try to creep on her too much since she can kill you without hesitation or remorse for that matter. Now then, Good luck to all of you!" The shady man with golden eyes said as he pulled the door open and practically threw the young girl into the room.

"Hey Wait!" The detective shouted as the door slammed in front of him, he reopened it in hurry only to see an empty hallway, he closed the door once more, gripping the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I can't believe this… I'm going to bed...don't touch my shit." A tired and irritated Adachi said and headed to his room for the night. He left the grey-haired girl to her own devices. His reverse Persona stood there awkwardly alone with her for a while...strangely enough, she had a pleasant smile to him.

"Soooo...Ummm how are things?" A smiling Yumiko said politely trying ease the tension that seemed fill the air. she sat down by the couch to see the killer's unfinished plate on the small table, she set her heavy school bag down near the table and tasted Adachi's cabbage stew… the reverse Persona patiently waited for her reaction to it.

"Oh, did you make this?" Yumiko asked, surprised by the taste. The tall Persona in the long coat, quietly nodded yes in reply.

"It's delicious!" The cheery teenage girl told the God of calamity.

"Well at least SOMEONE likes my cooking." Magatsu-Izanagi thought to himself hoping Adachi would be able to hear him through their psychic link. Maybe having this girl around wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Do you mind teaching me how to cook later?" Yumiko gazed at him innocently wanting to know if he could, though the reverse Persona didn't really think about that kind of stuff, teaching a young girl to cook…what an oddity.

"Hmm, I only know how to make cabbage stew…" Magatsu-Izanagi pointed to the dish on the table for her to realize, she smiled again anyways.

"Well then, let's start with that!" The cute grey-haired girl said to him confidently, he wasn't sure until she tells him why she desires to learn.

"Are you trying to impress someone…?" The God of calamity asked the young girl curiously for some reason.

"W-Well…yes, I am…" Yumiko became embarrassed about it. The reverse Persona chuckled to himself at her bashfulness.

"Then we're going to need a lot more than cabbage stew." Magatsu-Izanagi told her with his newfound optimism, the young girl cheerfully jumped up and squeezed him tightly.

"Thank you so much!" A grateful Yumiko pulled herself closer and gave him a small gentle kiss on the side of his mask, he was weirded out.

The young girl then pulled out some stuff from her school bag and pumped herself up before doing the assigned homework for the night. The reverse persona felt strange yet somewhat nostalgic after her action, it reminded him of the old days with his wife though he began shuttering at the thought…

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Gate]

The group arrived at the dungeon's entrance, the Persona users were mentally preparing themselves before they to climb the tall, imposing red caste to save their classmate and friend. Yu as leader of this ragtag rescue team, took it upon himself to check in with everyone. He decided to check on Teddie first. The Fool with Persona resting in mind, approached the rather **naive** Bear.

"The fog here isn't going anywhere soon, but we should hurry anyway." Teddie said with a hint of urgency, it seemed that the Bear was ready to head inside...

"We will, I just need to check with everybody before we go in…" Yu tells him in confident leader-like tone of voice, he turns his back to the bear and began heading to where his other friends stood. Suddenly… Teddie remembered what he was **instructed** to do by his large shadow friend who waited for him in the castle.

"Ah, that's right! Here, take this and please make sure you check every chest in there!" Teddie trots to him and happily hands Yu some dungeon-related stuff(Goho-Ms). He began pondering about Teddie's words at the end…

The grey-haired boy wondered if Teddie actually knew there were sometimes dangerous shadows in chests before Yu opens them, it was highly unlikely though… but then again Teddie can sense when shadows are near them… guess maybe not hidden though.

"These let you warp out of a dungeon to its entrance, and warp back to the floor you were on later. Pretty handy. If it's ever too hard to return, use those…but make sure you check every chest if we decide to come back later, okay!?" Teddie tells him with a bright smile of innocence, Yu and Izanagi grew somewhat suspicious of the bear as her never said something like that before in the previous cycle of events…Yu began walking to Yosuke and Chie while he spoke with Izanagi about this.

"That's strange… I wonder what's up with Teddie, he seems cheerier at this point than before… and especially about him telling me to check every chest, I feel like he's trying to get me killed off or something..." Yu spoke to his Persona with a slightly tone of worry, remembering Igor's advice to him…

" _Be wary of chests" – Igor_

"Remember it's Teddie-san, I'm sure he's just trying to help, but thou are right to say he's acting very strangely… I guess we must be careful of what we find in there…" Izanagi replied to his user in a calm tone.

"Right… You don't think he's in on it right?" A doubtful Yu asked The Japanese God lastly as he reached where his friends stood by, Jiraiya and Yosuke were having small talk before the dungeon.

"Sometimes I wonder about that bear…" A latent Jiraiya told Yosuke as he floated casually above his head, resting himself up for Shadow Yukiko's inevitable rant about either him or Izanagi.

"You're sure right about that Jiraiya…" The Junes Boy told his persona in reply about Teddie, the innocently dumb yet cute baer. (not a typo) Yosuke sees that Yu was approaching him, it seemed that he was in deep thought.

"I can never tell if Teddie is being serious when he says this stuff…Chie's definitely serious, though. Well, she is Yukiko's best friend, so of course she'd be worried." Yosuke spoke out to his partner as he walked up to him and Chie… Yu gazed over to Chie who had an expression that seemed like a combination of deep thought and worry for Yukiko, it didn't help that a gentle Tomoe patted on her master's back lightly for her to calm down… Yu looked concerned for her well-being, Yosuke observed Chie's state of mind as well… He decided to ease the mood.

"Well, it's...you know...It's at times like these that you and me gotta stay calm. Between you and me, we can handle anything! Right, Yu?" Yosuke told his partner with a comforting smile while a concerned Chie walked up to them…

"Yukiko's still okay right?" Chie asked Yu and Yosuke out of more worry for her best friend as a tired Tomoe continued to pat her master's back in an effort to comfort her.

"Don't worry so much! She'll be just fine. But we need to save her soon... She's safe until the fog comes back, isn't she? There's no reason to rush things and try to save her this instant. We don't want to go out for wool and come home shorn. But it's okay! Right leader?" Yosuke looked over to Yu as did a worried-faced Chie, Yu broke away from any thoughts of fear inside and confidently smiled at his friends.

"We'll try and save her today, I promise you… just remember that you're not alone in this, we're with you all the way…" A smiling Yu told Chie. The usually spunky girl nodded slightly to him, it seemed that his words had manage to put her at ease if only for a small amount of time… the group began heading inside the castle to start their rescue mission.

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Floor 1]

A large looming regular Shadow prowled one of the castle hallways of the first floor, guarding against any 'unwanted' intruders inside the dungeon's domain. The shadow didn't sense any other presence so it was normally moving close near a corner of the hallway. The large Shadow inspected the end of the hallway from a small distance. After sensing the area was clear of any potential threat, the shadow made its way back to the other end of the hall slowly as part of its security routine.

The shadow did not realize that around the same corner, there were Persona users and a bear lying in wait. Their backs were against the wall, taking cover and peeking out to see that it had turned its back towards them…this was a chance for a sneak attack.

"You ready Chie?" Yosuke asked in a whisper from behind Yu as The Leader was peeking out to see the large shadow with its guard lowered. Chie was quietly preparing herself with some leg stretches…

"Ready…" A hushed Chie in reply after finishing up, she had a determined look on her face…

"Go for it…" Yu encouraged her in a quiet tone, Chie nodded to him quickly and began dashing out of the corner towards the large unaware shadow with Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie following her move quickly. As the distance closed between them, Chie got right behind the Shadow and…

"HWATTA!" An aggressive Chie shouted her Kung-Fu battle cry as she used a kick that she saw in a movie once against the large imposing shadow… The fiend could not withstand the sudden impact from Chie and exploded into smaller shadows, two calm pesce emerged and engaged the intruders.

"Two enemy Shadows! You get to go first!" A cowardly Teddie commentated on the battle scene from a nice and safe distance as the shadows were caught in surprise attack…

"Let's Do this Jiraiya!" An excited Yosuke with a twirl of his knife, jumped up and smashed his Persona card quickly summoning the disco frogmen to cast Garu on one of the defenseless enemies… A transient Jiraiya appeared above Yosuke's head with his signature spin, the Ninja Frog clasped his hands quickly in a hand sign, suddenly a light surge of green wind formed under one of the Calm Pesces, blowing the monster up in the air, and then crashed hard to the floor. The Shadow was knocked down, allowing Yosuke to follow up on his attack.

"Persona!" Yosuke summoned Jiraiya once again, and casted Sukakaja on Chie right next to him, the spunky Kung-Fu girl nodded quickly in thanks.

"Protect us Tomoe!" An energetic Chie placed her Persona card in the air and quickly smashed it with a round house, The Yellow-cladded women warrior appeared quickly above her master and skewered the downed shadow in a swift motion, defeating it.

There was one shadow remaining in their sights…

"ZIODYNE!" Yu shouted aggressively and smashed the Persona in his hand, Izanagi emerged in front of his user, and geared himself for a LIGHTING PELVIC THRUST! A huge lightning bolt rained down on the remaining shadow and completely annihilated it.

"VICTORY!" A relieved Teddie ran back to the Persona users as they cleared out the hallway of any dangerous things...oh boy.

"Yay I leveled up!" An enthusiastic Chie jumped up with a mighty fist pump to the air… Yu became dumbfounded while observing her… they decided to keep going in the search for Yukiko.

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Floor 2]

The group of friends and Teddie reached the door leading to the place where Chie's shadow was previously fought, what awaited them behind the huge doors was someone very unexpected, well except for Yu…

"I sense someone behind this door…" Teddie told them with caution in his voice. The boys nodded to each other and worked in unison to open the heavy set of doors, Chie ran into the room quickly to a familiar sight… it was Yukiko in the pink princess dress with her back turned to group.

"Yukiko...what's wrong?" Chie asked her with concern… The others followed her in to see princess Yukiko before their eyes.

"Yukiko-san! Are you all right!?" Yosuke asked Yukiko as well. Teddie and Yu knew there was something up…

"*chuckle* Heehee Ahahahahahaha! *snort*" Princess Yukiko began laughing manically in response and with microphone in hand, she turned around to face them, showing off her golden-yellow eyes and sporting a devious smile to her group of friends excluding Teddie…

"Oh my! The special guests I've been waiting for… Chie Satonaka, the dipshit and dumbass!" Princess Yukiko laughed more as Yu and Yosuke wondered who was the dipshit and who was the dumbass.

"I wonder How you'll play into all this time around!" *chuckle* Things are really heating up aren't they?!" Princess Yukiko's eyes were focused on both Chie and Yu…

"Okie-dokie! I'm going back to hunt for my Prince Charming! Ohhh, where could he be…? This place is huge! It's sooo exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him! Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Or maybe he's right here…hehe." The smiling other Yukiko had an accusing finger to Yu in the group as a spotlight began shining on him, making the grey-haired boy nervous as the others began looking at him with confused expressions…

"Or maybe not… I know for a fact by looking at him, he's no good for Yukiko-sama…*chuckle*" The other Yukiko mocked Yu, suddenly a colorfully bright sparkling neon sign that said 'Princess Yukiko's hunt for **her** prince charming' appeared above her head surprising everyone in the room.

"Wh-What the hell is this!?" Yosuke shouted and looked at the strange display in bewilderment.

"You're not Yukiko...Who are you!?" Chie questioned the other Yukiko, braced herself for confrontation.

*chuckle* "What're you talking about? I'm Yukiko...and Yukiko is me, I'm mean you should know your best friend...Right?" The Shadow of Yukiko laughed in her face, holding her stomach as it was too funny.

"No! Don't tell me, are you-!? Where's the real Yukiko!?" Chie demanded an answer...suddenly unseen voices are heard throughout the large room…

"What's with these voices!?" Yosuke looked around but couldn't find the source, Yu grit his teeth and focused himself as Princess Yukiko's eyes were on him.

"The Shadows are getting agitated!" an angry-looking Teddie told them.

"Heehee! You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!" Princess Yukiko tells the grey-haired boy lastly as she runs off deeper into the castle.

"That clearly wasn't the real Yukiko. It had to be... I think it was. It must have been the other part of herself. So it's just like what happened to us... But I don't think she was excited for nothing. The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it. It's hard to explain...It seems like she has a strong connection to this castle. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought!" Teddie examined as if he just discovered this despite living in this place since who knows, while Yu rolled his eyes as this began getting repetitive.

"Yukiko...!" Chie urgently went after princess Yukiko, leaving the others behind.

"Hey… Not again! Dammit we told her not to run off on her own!" Yosuke grimaced, The Fool took a few steps in the direction of where those two girls ran off…

"Just get moving…" The no-nonsense team leader gestured over to Teddie and Yosuke to help find both Chie and 'Yukiko' deeper in the castle...

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Omake #3 - Two Best Twins play Final Fantasy 15! …with Junpei and Yukari

[Iwantodai Dorm, Evening]

Minato Arisato of SEES curiously sat next to his cheerful sister Minako on the couch in front of the dorm's TV set with their microphones. On the screen had the "Final Fantasy XV" logo with title music playing somberly as Minako scrolled in the options menu with the PS4 controller, she had a pleased look on her face.

A question ran through the mind of her bother as he looked on at the TV… this was obviously not Persona 5...

"How did you get this, Minako? It's like 2009…" The blue-haired boy asked her as she turned toward him with game controller in hands.

"I know a guy who knows a guy, and it's something I've been wanting to LP for a while on this channel…" The Cheery Girl told him with a smile, right next to them were their friends Junpei and Yukari both had microphone stands as well...though Junpei seemed more eager for this than Yukari.

"What about Persona 5? Isn't it already out?" Junpei asked the pair of twins, they both looked at each other for a bit and nodded.

"Me and Minako agreed to not play it until the West gets its release… it wouldn't be fair to our American and European fans to be spoiled before they get it and we've remained unspoiled ourselves so far… the delay was on the fault of the translation team half-assing their work, then again they had like 12 people on that…but that's no reason to break a promise to half our fan base for so long..." Minato told his two friends on the couch.

"Wait…Final Fantasy…! Is this the whole reason why you made us watch that weird movie and anime series!?" Yukari asked her best female friend in a slightly accusing tone… those were a couple hours of her life she won't get back, Minako chuckled and formed a sly smirk at the thought being clever enough to get her best friend on board with this… she continued adjusting the options.

"Well…I don't know about you guys but I've been waiting for this game too for so long and I don't even get to play it! How cruel!" Junpei seemed pumped for this despite being in the back seat.

"Are you a fan of Final Fantasy Junpei?" Minato asked the 'Ace Detective' from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah man! I'm big on RPGS! Don't you remember I gave you Innocent Sin a while back?" Junpei exclaimed for a bit as Yukari rolled her eyes at this all.

"Yeah, VIDEO GAMES… *sighs* okay, lets do this..." Yukari scoffed at her friends remark and reluctantly became part of this LP.

"Innocent sin…Isn't that game the one you met our teacher in?" Minako off-handedly and innocently asked her brother as their friend's mouths were now agape in sudden surprise at hearing those words out loud…though their individual reactions were way different.

Junpei's expression could only be described as 'Serious!? You da man!' while Yukari's more questioning look toward Minato came off as if she was his clingy jealous girlfriend…IDK about that.

The older of the Arisato twins feigned obliviousness to what was said, though Yukari's cold and piercing stare began to hurt physically… Messiah prayed for his user as Yukari's dark figure menacingly loomed over him in Minato's imagination.

Minako happily presses start on the title screen…Now the four brave warriors begin their journey. Prepared to fight. What awaits them however, they do not know…

FINAL FANTASY XV

* * *

Aurthor's Note: My god doing 4 four page long research papers in the span of two weeks was a nightmare plus things with Me and My editor have been busy in general. I apologize because this whole thing was suppose to be one chapter but I felt like it would be poorly paced and a lot of ideas would have been cut/not fleshed out if I didn't do this.

Sidenotes:

-For now on, only Omakes as previews will be used as progress reports.

-The Bloodborne reference was put in because me and editor love the shit outta that game.

-Yumiko's comment about Adachi being a "creepy raper guy" is a nod to Giant Bomb's Persona 4 endurance run.

-A special Omake featuring Minato, Minako, Junpei and Yukari will be added later as a seperate chapter but then fitted into here.


	19. Chapter 19

Midnight Channel Boss: **SHADOW YUKIKO, Part 2** – Chapter 19

{April 18, 2011} {Sunny}

[Still in the Castle, The Midnight Channel]

Yu, Yosuke and Teddie followed Chie and the Shadow of Yukiko's trail deeper into the castle dungeon, after finding the stressed girl in green alone, having lost track of where that deranged pink princess went off to… The team regrouped for a bit to discuss Yukiko's possible status…

"Geez Chie, are you gonna run off somewhere wherever we meet that shadow look-alike?" Yosuke grimaced and folded his arms in annoyance of his female friend going gung-ho all the time.

"Yukiko will be okay, right...?" Chie asked The leader of the team with worry in her voice once again… also ignoring her other male friend's comment to which Yosuke grew more annoyed but at least he could understand her feelings nonetheless.

"She will, just remember what Teddie said, she'll be safe until the fog lifts so we have to hurry and rescue her before that…" Yu responded to Chie with a clear answer.

"Sensei's right! We have to hurry!" Teddie spoke out to them, they all agreed and proceeded further into the dungeon… all of them started walking into a castle corridor on the third floor until…

"Teeheehee…My Prince will soon come for me. I'll always be waiting...Forever and ever...heehee." The voice of a cheerful-sounding Yukiko echoed throughout the hallway, startling them a little as it was the shadow's and not the normal one… they all cautiously approached another big set of doors at the end of the hallway on the third floor, Teddie came to the front of the group and focused on their surroundings with his sensing ability.

"I sense someone beyond this door…Hrmm...I hear her voice. But all I sense around here are you and Shadows. Watch out for the Shadows, and keep going! When a Shadow has its back to you, carefully get in close and smack it!" The cute bear Teddie warns them, they all nodded and opened the big door with some effort and fortunately found the staircase leading into the next floor. They continued fighting random shadows on the way as they progressed up… until they suddenly hear another unseen voice...

"Thank you for coming to the Amagi Inn today. Your room is right this way. If we can help you in any way, please let us know immediately." The voice of Yukiko echoed throughout the halls.

"...What's this voice talking about? This place isn't an inn. It's totally a castle!" Teddie said stating the obvious. As the rest of the group remained cautious as to what could possibly lie ahead, though Yu for sure was ready to face the inevitable danger.

"Hmhmhm...Ohoho..." The devious princess Yukiko watched the group's movements carefully from the shadows and spoke out to them in a more mocking manner than the first time… (she's secretly getting all yandere toward the grey-haired boy for rejecting her user's feelings…ouch.)

"Oh this is perfect! …We'll soon be free Yukiko-sama… you and I can be happy together once more… If I succeed!" Princess Yukiko chuckled a bit in excitement… she really couldn't wait to kill that boy dead for sure.

"Wow! By any chance, are you...My princes? I'm locked up here...Please save me! Hmhmhm...I'm sure my Princes can do it... I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place… I'll be waiting for you… Ohoho…heheHAHAHAHA!" Princess Yukiko let out an evil-sounding laugh which echoed out to the group of rescuers, confusing everyone save for Yu who grew more worried for his female friend as Konohana was still aware of his actions with friend-zoning her. Teddie sniffed the air inside the castle hallway and pointed in a direction.

"It's that girl's scent!" Teddie exclaimed to the young Persona users, they geared themselves up for anything that was about to get in their way, the bear had led them to another huge set of castle doors…

"Are you really ready sensei?" Teddie asked out of concern for the grey-haired boy in front as he planted his hands firmly on the castle doors…

"We're good Teddie…" Yu strained a bit to open the doors and began wondering why Yosuke, Chie or anyone else on the team wouldn't help him push… they just stood idly behind him all the time back then… The group found another side room inside but this one had a familiar face… Princess Yukiko stood next to a large and powerful shadowy figure that resembled a medieval knight on a horse. The princess spoke in a teasing manner to them once again.

"My PRINCE wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct? …Well Chao! If you make it out, I'll see you at the top!" Princess Yukiko snickered at the thought as she quickly made her escape as the hulking shadow knight on a floating legless mount blocked the team from pursuing her any further to their friend's location.

*Fight Woosh*

{-Yukiko's Castle Sub-Boss, Emperor Arcana: Avenger Knight-}

The fog seemed to grow thicker as the massive armor-clad shadow Knight glided across the castle floor with its dark steed. Looming over the three teenagers menacingly, each of the persona users began to prepare themselves for battle in their own way. Yosuke slipped his headphones on the faint sounds of some subpar American rock band bleeding through the rather cheap padding around the speakers. The green-clad girl stretching out her well-developed legs in anticipation while the stoic grey-haired leader of the group simply readied his katana all while the clown-colored bear retreated to a safe distance behind them.

"Gyaaaaaah! I've never seen such a strong one before! I-It's attacking us!" Teddie shrilled in fright of the intimidating Shadow boss…from a good distance away. The huge dark-armored Avenger Knight reined its floating legless horse and raised his lance high to the air, the Shadow charged its strength, Yosuke and Chie stayed determined and braced themselves as their level-headed team leader quickly decided their first move against the knight…

"GET READY!" Yu shouted to his comrades by his sides as they nodded with resolve… Yu raised his hand to the air for a moment, the Persona card of Izanagi materialized and quickly crushed it to summon the Japanese God into the battle.

"Marakunda!" Yu commanded his Persona and casted one improved version of Izanagi's signature magic spells to weaken the shadow's armor plating. The Chariot then summoned her Persona Tomoe and casted some ice magic on the Knight but the shadow shook off Chie's ice attack easily…

"Persona!" Yosuke summoned Jiraiya and quickly casted some wind magic on the Avenger Knight but the powerful shadow shook off the attack and geared its self-up to drive its lance painfully into one of them… its first target was Yu… The Avenger Knight rushed over to the team leader at blinding speed and thrusted his lance forward, but Yu easily sidestepped the knights thrust due to Izanagi's high agility. …The Avenger knight pulled back it's lance and looked down around itself and caught Chie within its sight and turned towards her... Yu was quick to anticipate the shadow's incoming attack and desperately tried to call out to Chie before it happened.

"Chie look out!" Yu quickly called out to the spunky girl as the Avenger Knight readied his weapon to attack her this time… the shadow lunged at the girl with a heavy stab. Chie cried out as her right arm was hit by the knight's heavy lance and was only barely able to withstand the attack from severing it…

"Chie!" Yosuke shouted loudly as he watched the sight of his friend being attacked horrifically by the shadow knight and quickly commanded the Frog-like Ninja to cast wind on the fiend in retaliation, Jiraiya appeared above Yosuke and clasped his webbed hands to focus his magic, a sudden surge of green wind blew up beneath the knight's build and even managed to cut some armor off its body, but the Avenger knight remained strong against it and became more vicious in dealing with these Persona users… It now planned to attack Yosuke with its skewer attack.

The Avenger knight suddenly turned its horse mount around to face Yosuke and charged at him with the same attack, the Junes boy tensed up and quickly raised his arms in a weak attempt to block the incoming lance.

"S-Seriously you're telling me Yukiko created this place!? …I wonder if this shadow thing is just trying to protect her from going back to the inn…Oh man, what's going on with you Yukiko…?" Chie expressed and thought about the how much influence the Inn has on Yukiko's life through the pain she received from the shadow's stab, she quick held her arm as she felt some blood running down underneath her sleeve, she closed her eyes… Tomoe quickly spoke inside Chie's mind as the knight rushed toward Yosuke…

"Master, Yosuke-san is in trouble! Don't give up!" Tomoe struggled to push her user to act as she held her bloodied arm… Chie looked up and watched the Avenger knight just moments before it tried to stab Yosuke with its lance… she told herself quietly under her breath through the excruciating pain she felt…

"I-I'm not gonna give up… Yukiko is still in here right? …I have to rescue her from this place and tell her that she's not alone with these feelings… and just because THIS STUPID MONSTER IS IN THE WAY ISN'T GOING TO STOP ME!" Chie placed her Persona card in the air with her good arm and quickly smashed it with a cool spin kick.

"GO TOMOE!" Chie strained herself to summon Tomoe, the Yellow-cladded warrior responded to her call and twirled her nagata in fast moving circles as she approached the Avenger Knight from behind and then proceeded to bash its helm with the spear's white-hot bladed tip, the shadow knight endured Chie's attack but was stalled for a spilt moment due to its sudden impact… Yu eyes widened as he saw an opening to finish the fight in one swift move. He took this chance to summon Izanagi quickly on the Knight right before it regained its stance.

"TEMPEST SLASH!" The furious Fool commanded his black-coated Persona to take action, Izanagi flashed-stepped at high-speed above the Avenger Knight with his blade raised quickly and swiped down on the Shadow with a vertical strike… The knight was cut into two large pieces… Izanagi remained floating above Yosuke as the Avenger Knight staggered from the deep cut to its body from the blade.

"Are you alright? Yosuke-san?" A concerned Izanagi asked the Junes boy underneath him… Yosuke quickly nodded in reply, stunned by how fast all of that happened…

"What about Chie-san? Is she okay?" Jiraiya suddenly sprang out from Yosuke to meet with Izanagi… As the massive knight faded once more into the shadowy void from whence it came, the half-mad voice of Yukiko rang through the corridors of the castle…

"Heehee…If you really are my Prince, then we will surely meet again. I am but a trapped soul… I cannot leave this place even if I wished…come find me if you dare!" The unseen voice of Yukiko rang out to the exhausted team…it went silent for a moment as the group took a breather after that tough fight.

"I don't sense her anymore…Oh! Are you okay, Sensei? I'm sure we've got a long way to go. Don't push yourself too hard! If you're tired, you should head back! …Oh wait, n-never mind!" Teddie said remembering his promise to the big friendly shadow hiding in one of the many chests, who said it wanted to give a 'joy-filled' surprise to Sensei and friends. Yu rolled his eyes at Teddie's rather gullible nature and turned his attention towards an injured Chie.

"Can you walk, Chie? Here, let me see your arm…" The concerned team leader came up to the girl in green and examined her bloodied arm carefully and then aided her to stay on both of her feet… it seemed that his constant chivalry was beginning to win her favor, but then the thought of these aching pains she felt may result in them to try rescuing Yukiko another day… she would have none of it.

"Yeah, I-I'm ok! Let's just keep going!" Chie made an effort to put on a strong face for the leader, though he could see that she was deeply hurt. Yu looked over to his partner whose face was filled with concern for their friend's wellbeing as well, but Yosuke ultimately decided to do whatever his partner order against his own judgment, even if it meant to keep on going with constantly growing danger…Yu carefully and gently helped an injured Chie walk over to Yosuke.

"Get her healed up… we're moving out soon…" Yu calmly requested his partner to heal their friend with Jiraiya's Dia skill for them to keep going… though Yosuke was reluctant after seeing what real serious danger could do to them. Chie fully recovered from her injuries, and so they moved forward on the path to the top of the castle with Yu was leading them on…Yosuke came up to his partner and told him something quietly as the others walked behind them.

"I want to save her as fast as we can...But let's be careful, Yu." Yosuke's words stayed with him for a bit, he nodded in understanding as he knew how stubborn and determined Chie was to save Yukiko at all cost…

"Don't worry…with Izanagi's power, I can support all of you guys… even if worse comes to worst." Yu confidently told him in response as they continued on the path. The leader knew that fighting the shadows of his friends was inevitable…but with his powered up Persona, he'll have an easy time… or so he thinks…

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, various floors]

The Persona users and Teddie continued to ascend hastily to the top of Yukiko's dungeon though they were getting more and more exhausted as they fought many tough shadows along the way. After reaching the last floor before the final, the group decided to take a break when they found a safe space in the castle. The Persona users and Teddie continued to ascend hastily to the top of Yukiko's dungeon though they were getting more exhausted as they fought many tough shadows along the way. After reaching the last floor before the final, the group decided to take a break when they found a safe space in the castle.

"H-Heh, Heeehh, A-Are we there yet…?" A sweating and thirsty Yosuke wheezed trying his best to catch his breath. The Junes boy suddenly fell on his back to the carpet floor and spread his body to rest for a while. Yu, the equally tired leader of the group sat down beside his partner and handed him a tap soda he bought for the long dungeon crawl. Yosuke then opened the pick-me-up and quickly drank all of it in a matter of seconds. The boys and Teddie were feeling too weak to go on…

"Let's get some training done, Tomoe!" Chie declared still clearly full of enough energy to save her best friend and even do some basic leg stretches with Tomoe while waiting for the slowpokes to catch up… the boys in question were little ways off from where she had stopped after they slowly made their way up the winding stair case, the grey-haired wild card found himself...err distracted from his partner's pending question as he found himself absentmindedly admiring Chie's form as she went about her exercises…the sweat from the previous battle and her recent movements shined across her forehead creating this sort of glistening halo of sweat and natural glow that came when the blood flushed her cheeks. Yu couldn't help but tune out whatever Yosuke was complaining about as he began to remember the very similar states they would find themselves in after their many, many training sessions. How her chest would rise and fall at a quickened pace in time with her heartbeat as her lungs fed her well sculpted body with air. But most of all the one thing he remembered the most and oddly enough, fondly was the strangely sweet aroma that seemed drift through the air whenever they finished a good workout and later on their more...intimate activities.

Izanagi appeared physically and sat next to his user not knowing whether or not commend him on his vivid visualization and memorization, or scold him on his improper and lecherous thoughts towards a girl he technically only met a little over a week ago, then again given the circumstances...

"A gentleman refrains from ogling his beloved when the times are inappropriate…" Izanagi was blunt about it; Yu couldn't help himself though but that didn't stop him from firing back a quip of his own.

"Doesn't stop you now does it?" Yu responded as he quickly gestured to the yellow clad warrior goddess beside the apple of his eye The Japanese God of Creation panicked slightly at the possibility that his user might have spoken loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Um…Hey dude! Are we almost done!?" Yosuke said snapping Yu out of his rather extensive observation of their female companion. Jiraya appeared next to him almost as soon as he finished speaking.

"Ah don't bother Yosuke, its hopeless with those two…" The Ninja Frog told him as if it was the most wise-sounding advice ever.

"Oh I know that. I gotta admit though, I wonder why Yu seems to only shown interest in Chie… I mean there's other girls like Yukiko or hell I'd settle for mention of an idol like Risette for example, but I guess Chie's cute too in some strange plain jane kinda way. I dunno…" Yosuke then pondered about this given the recent interactions between his two friends, Jiraiya decided to give him his answer.

"Maybe he has a type? Honestly, I can't wrap my head around it either…" Jiraiya said as he shrugged his shoulders. Wondering to himself just how close Chie and Yu got during the last cycle.

The group was unfocused on Teddie who thought deeply about which of those tiny red chests could be the one where his large friend is hiding in… Teddie began wondering around outside the safe zone they found, as he scanned his surroundings he found one last treasure chest sitting at the end of a hallway, it remained unopened. The bear decided to surprise his Sensei by bringing his big shadowy friend over to him instead of finding him himself, and so the sly bear quietly approached it…Yu remained distracted by Chie's hypnotizing exercise routine, unable to keep watch on Teddie who had the potential to get them all killed easily as Igor had warned him about "Chests" but Yu's mind wasn't working at this moment…

"I won't let Sensei miss his birthday surprise from a good old friend…Here we go!" Teddie excitedly tried opening the small treasure chest without any hesitation or thought…suddenly, a Large Shadowy presence was felt from inside the box without notice from the others…

"And that makes thirty! So, we ready to go or what?" A now freshly pumped and stretched Chie exclaimed after finishing her her most recent set. Sweat dripping from her forehead as she slowly began removing the green spring track jacket revealing her uniform top underneath that hugged closely to her well-toned and well developed assets.

"Ah, Yeah! Of course just waiting you, you and uh…Yosuke?" Yu said shaking himself away from his ogling of his once and future beloved.

"Yeah?" The unamused brown-haired Junes boy responded to the leader.

"Um, did you see where Teddie went?" Yu said a slight nervousness creeping into the pit of his stomach.

"Noooo, I thought you were watching him! Wait, why do we need to watch him! He isn't a toddler, Is he!?" Was Yosuke's response.

"Uh, What's wrong Yu-kun?" Chie said as she walked up to the pair who were looking increasingly anxious.

"That dumb bear wandered off somewhere…" Yosuke responded to her concern. Before anyone could say anything, a familiar voice rang out from further down the hallway.

"Seeeennnnseeeeiiii, come quick! I found something interesting! It's all rattily and stuff!" Teddie said his voiced echoing from where he was standing. The sound of chains rattling began through the halls after he finished talking.

The trio made their way to where Teddie's voice seemed to be emanating from, only to find him standing in front of a small chest that moved every now in then.

"Teddie? …Wait what the hell's up with all that?" Yosuke looked around the room as he was hearing some really annoying and ear-bothering rattles from metal chains… it was coming from outside… Suddenly the huge door way leading out began unnaturally darkening to black until nothing from the outside could be seen… The three Persona users regrouped and braced themselves for it was danger unlike anything they faced before… Yu sensed an intensely terrifying presence… as Teddie suddenly broke the latch on the rattling chest as a massive black shadow like energy burst forth from the opening.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SENSEI!" Teddie cheerfully hollered as he hopped into the square room they were holed up in from the seemingly dark abyss in the hallway outside… behind the happy bear came an insanely powerful Shadow dressed in dark clothes wearing a bloodied brown sack with one eye hole on its head, carrying a pair of long-barrel revolvers in each hand… The Shadow menacingly loomed over the group with a visibly pleased Teddie quickly returning to Yu's side… The ghoulish-looking Shadow spoke in a deep and raspy disembodied voice that seemed to echo within their minds. Yu became paralyzed as this giant spectral beast who's voice directly spoke in his mind. The Fool doesn't know by what means brought this thing here or what it wants... only that its searching for something... or someone.

Before the ghoulish fiend's dark and raspy voice echoed into Yu's mind, saying "Taaaattttsuuuuyaaaa wheeeerrree aaaaarrreeee yoooouuu?" The shadow gazed slowly down to meet Yu and seems to hiss in disgust "You, you're NOT tatsuya, where is he? I wonder? Do you perhaps know?" A quick-thinking Yu crushed his Persona Card in hand without hesitation as this was the danger Igor had warned him about. The powerful Izanagi appeared above his user and casted Ziodyne on The Reaper.

Suddenly, a bright and enormous thunderbolt rained down from the heavens, hitting the Shadowy figure full-on, sparks flew and the lightning bolt created a thick cloud of smoke… and it did… VERY little to weaken the all-powerful Reaper, seeing this made everyone's jaw just sort of dropped in disbelief that this Shadow effortlessly withstood Yu's best magic attack…

"Holy Messiah! How did he survive that!?" Izanagi uttered in shock that his mighty spell Ziodyne only tingled the strong Shadow a little.

"Heh heh heh… Is that the best you can do? Pathetic...From what I gleaned of you when the Mistress enacted her fail safe, I thought you to be much more powerful. I am... disappointed to say the least Seeker of Truth..." The Reaper hissed inside all of their minds, the two persona users behind Yu could only stare at the monstrous shadow in confusion and slight amounts of fear, While Yu just glared at The Reaper, his mind racing with thoughts on whether or not it was bluffing or not as well as who exactly this "Mistress" was.

"That's not something sensei's cousin would say, who are you!?" Teddie angrily held an accusing paw to the powerful shadow for being tricked by him.

"I am The Reaper, an avatar of death. I was once human just like all of you, well mostly. Now, I lurk amongst the shadows for this is my curse…" The ghoulish shadow answered.

"You mentioned a mistress, right? Does she have something to do with me?" A still-glaring Yu probed the Reaper for an answer about this mystery woman.

"All shall become clear soooon… as of now, I am here to test the might and resolve of the Seekers of Truth. Let's not waste timeeee!" The Reaper quickly drawn his revolvers with the Persona users beneath him braced themselves for battle.

*FIGHT WOOSH*

The Reaper's movements became gangly as the fight began. Chie readied her fighting stance towards the enormous "obstacle" in their path.

"I guess we've got no choice, if we work together maybe we could-" An optimistic Chie was interrupted from speaking by Yu with a dead serious face coming quickly to her side and grabbing her by the shoulders, causing her to jump in surprise.

"I-I love your spirit Chie, but sometimes we have to pick our battles to fight another day, this is one of those times!" Yu's tone was urgent, but All Chie could think about how his face was a little too close to hers… Before the Reaper could load up his guns, Yosuke helped in the effort to convince the girl that this was a losing battle…

"Yeah he's right, I don't want to die a virgin! Do it Teddie!" Yosuke called for the gullible bear to act, Teddie threw a vanishing ball for their escape. The Reaper was blinded by a white flash the non-descriptive item gave off. After he regained his sight, the persona users and silly bear were nowhere to be seen. (They all were hiding behind a nearby marble pillar since Teddie couldn't move quickly enough.)

"Escaping are we? That's fine, but you'll have to get faaar away from me…HeheHAHAHA!" The Reaper slowly raised his gun to the air as he sensed Yu and his friends were hiding somewhere close. Yu realized the powerful fiend was about do some serious renovations to Yukiko's castle.

"RUN! QUICKLY!" Yu shouted for the gang to run for their lives, the Team went up to the upper floors as hastily as they could to get away from the blast radius. The Reaper howled in laughter as he fired his gun, casting Megidolaon on the whole floor to flush them out. The almighty explosion destroyed everything and annihilated all shadows on the 7th floor, the whopping bang shook the whole structure of the castle that even Princess Yukiko in the throne room felt it.

*tiny bits of the throne room's ceiling drop to the ground*

"W-What the hell was that?" Princess Yukiko remarked curiously on her throne chair as she patiently waited for the others to come to her, her normal self was off to the side in a daze…

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, Floor 8]

The group had managed to reach the last floor of the castle and they were even near the door where Yukiko was supposed to be in, though the team were more exhausted than before. A blue butterfly fluttered above them, probably watching them silently.

"It's close! She's just beyond here! I've been wondering all this time...What's scoring a hot stud…?" Teddie asked the team curiously, though nobody paid attention to him as they were almost killed by his foolishness.

"H-Heh, you're gonna have to explain to me what just happened back there…" A once again sweaty Yosuke telling his partner as he bended over onto his knees to catch his breath from running so much… what the hell just happened, really?

"Sure, I'll tell you everything once we rescue Yukiko and get out of here…" Yu responded tiredly, knowing saving their classmate was more important right now. As Yosuke continued to breath heavily, he noticed a strange red-colored and animalistic figure standing behind his partner, quietly… Yosuke then rubbed his eyes as he believed he was just seeing things...oh boy was he wrong. Standing behind Yu, was a… CREEPY RED HORSE GUY WITH HUMAN HAAANDS! Yosuke was surprised by this, to say the least…

"DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" A scared silly Yosuke blurted out and pointed in shock at the gangly Orobas who found his reaction amusing and quietly waved at the Junes boy with his eerie white-colored hand to mess with him some more…

"Oh that's my persona, Orobas…" Yu replied to Yosuke with a casual sounding tone of voice, not realizing that his horse guy was creeping out his buddy pretty hard.

"Persona!? Since when? I thought Izanagi was your persona!" Yosuke wondered deeply about how many more things he was being kept in the dark by Yu's vague excuses.

"Well yeah he is… by the way, I can use multiple…" The Fool decided to bluntly give the short answer, much to Yosuke's chagrin. Yu believed there were more important things right now.

"What! How!?" The Junes boy was flabbergasted by this sudden reveal of his partner's ability.

"Look, these small details don't matter right now, I know you would like some explaining of this stuff and I'll tell you everything but only after we rescue Yukiko…Okay?" Yu told the Junes boy honestly and laid a touch of his buddy's shoulder, Yosuke sighed as he thought he understood the bigger picture, but hey at least he knows Yu is super cool with that power of his, wanting to see if he can that too.

"Yu-kun's right about that! Now, Let's think of a plan in case that other Yukiko tries something…" Chie told the two with serious determination on her face. The boys nodded in unison and the three huddled together to discuss a plan of action… their Personas only needed to do what they're told in battle so they didn't bother listening to tactics and what not. The Personas of the team were off to the side of the hall; they began having a discussion with Orobas… though it was Jiraiya mostly talking to him about stuff.

"So, Yu-san told me earlier that you know the answers to everything about the past, present, and future, right? I want to know something… can you help me out?" Jiraiya in wonder to the creepy redhorse man with human hands, Izanagi and Tomoe were standing nearby.

"Well Frog Man, let me see what I can do…" Orobas then began touching his temples in quiet concertation with his human-like fingers, waiting for Jiraiya to speak his question.

"Do I ever really get married? If so, is she hot?" A curious Jiraiya asked this out nowhere, confusing the others and even the all-knowing demon horse guy himself.

"Wait, what? That's it? Don't you guys want to know if your conjurers succeed in their journey for the long run in this cycle we are in…?" Orobas told them bluntly, a bit amazed that no one bothered to inquire about that.

"Eh, That's Izanagi's and Yu-san's problem, I just want to know about myself…" A soul-searching Jiraiya said off-handedly, his partner in the black coat stood comedically offended by his words, Tomoe spoke up in her own curiosity.

"Why are you wondering about this now, Jiraiya? Aren't you already married to a woman named Tsunade…?" The yellow-cladded warrior questioned the pondering Ninja Frog.

"Dude that's just in my legend, it isn't necessarily true. I'm just wondering about it that's all…watching you two goofballs got me curious…" Jiraiya told the Persona pair playfully, Orobas looked over to them in interest as he was unaware of this revelation, despite knowing everything apparently.

"H-Hey, don't just blab about that to everyone!" Tomoe stated to her male friend all flustered by the carelessness of his words, Izanagi began whistling nervously beside her…

"So, Orobas… does he actually marry someone?" Izanagi was truly curious about that as well, totally not changing the subject matter at all.

"He's already married, I even met her in the sea of souls once… she's wondering where he's gone to." Orobas stated to them abruptly, the others were surprised as was Jiraiya, needless to say.

"OMG! Tell me…What's her name!? And you don't mean Tsunade right!?" Jiraiya grabbed the horseman and shook him like crazy suddenly questioning him for more info, it was shocking for him to hear this after only be able to remember being alone all this time…

"Well of course not, though… but you two still fought a powerful snake beast together just like in Jiraiya's legend…wait, shouldn't you know her name?" Orobas told the frog man as he stopped shaking him.

"Yeah that is kinda odd, I mean…I still remember my ex-wife's from back in the day and I'm a lot older than you…" Izanagi stated to his froggy and love sick partner, Jiraiya pondered on about this truth.

"I just don't remember her at all, that's strange…" Jiraiya then held his head with his webbed hands tightly to try and remember his life from the past but no such memory came to him.

"It will come to you soon so don't push yourself so hard right now, Frog Man. You'll need this energy to fight your crazy bird companion...once more." Orobas advised the wondering the uncertain ninja frog, he then awkwardly pranced with his hooved feet over to Yu who was still in discussion of tactics with the others.

"Yeah he's right Jiraya, and don't worry, We'll help you figure this out too because we're your friends…" Tomoe slowly came over to her buddy and laid a gentle hand of comfort on his shoulder with Izanagi eagerly nodding in agreement, Jiraiya gazed at both his friends and sighed in relief.

"…Thanks guys." A grateful Jiraiya told the two quietly, Tomoe then took her leave and left Izanagi and Jiraiya alone to rejoin her master for the coming battle. As Izanagi was about to leave too, Jiraiya spoke up, wanting to know something.

"What was your ex-wife like? If you don't mind me asking, partner…" Jiraiya asked something personal from his pal, Izanagi obliged him without much issue.

"We were twins who grew up creating the world from chaos, I was the older one while she was the youngest. I remember that she was really awkward with other Gods of the world. She also wrote poetry as an escape when she thinks about things that are hard to answer...I thought her writing was pretty 'meh' but I would always read them because I loved her… though that's in the past now like I said before… still, I'm re-experiencing the 'feeling' of those wonderful times with someone new…" Izanagi told his buddy sincerely. Jiraiya thanked him for telling him this, though he did want to know what happened between them that caused the couple to split, he decided not to pry anymore.

"I just hope I can find her…" Jiraiya speaks this newfound desire to Izanagi. The ninja frog then began thinking more about-WAIT, What? …Did his partner admitted he was married to his sister? Must have heard that wrong because EW! Little Sister-complex much? Then again, Izanagi is the kingpin of steel's persona…

"You will because we'll help along the way, remember you're not alone anymore... come on let's go and save our fiery friend…again." Izanagi then playfully wrapped an arm around the ninja frog's neck, acting as if there was a sunset nearby so they could walk to it as they headed back to rejoin the party.

"You're cheerful today. Um, You're not worried about Konohana?" Jiraiya asked The Japanese God in particular as they were walking back to the group by the door.

"Oh I am… She might actually burn us to death this time!" An unusually jolly Izanagi stated as he was still clueless as ever about the real issues of relationships with others, Jiraiya thought. Let's just see if Tomoe can work stuff out with her…

* * *

[Yuikiko's Castle, Throne Room]

The Investigation Team utilized their Personas' physical strength to burst through the thick twin doors of the throne room at the highest level of the castle. The room was decorated a large red carpet leading to elegant stone steps with red drapes hanging from above the throne's chair, the seat was decked out with a gold trim and magnificent marble pillars on both its sides… The one sitting in the fancy chair was a bored golden-eyed Princess Yuikiko with a villainous slouch. The group came to the sight of the normal Yukiko in the pink kimono near the stone steps, dazed and confused.

"Yukiko!" Chie attempted to come to her best friend's aid but was held back by the other cautious team members before she could do so, they noticed the other self of Yukiko sitting on the throne in the direction of where Yukiko was… Princess Yukiko began to speak to them.

"Oh, about time-oh wait! …I mean, Oooh what's this? The three princes have finally arrived! And they're here to see me!? My my! Awwwww...I wish you guys would have come sooner! It's getting really boring here! Why don't we go somewhere else...? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're our Princes, you'd take us away, won't you? C'mon...pretty please!?" The Princess said in sweet yet sinister tone, it certainly swayed Teddie to her.

"Oooh, is this scoring a hot stud!?" An interested Teddie spoke behind the group with a heart fluttering above his head. Yu knows for sure that Yukiko won't ever live that down…as he's from the future and junk.

"Three princes? Wait, does that include me, too?" Chie then began pondering deeply about the implications behind all of this, still not knowing what the heck even is homosexuality. (As stated in chapter 7)

"Duh! The third one's gotta be me!" The self-absorbed bear mascot commented behind a pondering Chie.

"I seriously doubt that." An unbelieving Yosuke remarked in front of Teddie.

"Chie…heehee... Yes, she's my prince…She always leads the way...Chie's a strong Prince...Or at least, she WAS. When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough! She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!" Princess Yukiko's tone became aggressive as she spoke to them. Yu waited patiently for the inevitable…

"Yukiko, is this how you really feel about me…?" Chie gazed over to her best friend in distress. Suddenly, the normal Yukiko stood up on her feet after the heavy feeling keeping her down subsided, she slowly approached the pink princess.

"S-Stop…" Yukiko faintly told the deranged doppelganger of herself as she was still physically weak due to the atmosphere of this place.

"Famous inn? Manager training!? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!" The princess began her ranting her normal self's true feelings, the Team could only watch this play out as their actions may trigger the shadow earlier…they began to feel uneasy knowing it may happen anyway if Yukiko said three simple words…

"That's not true..." Yukiko raised her voice slightly to her dark self, the group tensed up as they kept watching. Yu diligently prepared himself for battle, raising his katana to the shadow with a serious look on his face, the others watched him do this and knew there was no avoiding conflict. Princess Yukiko smiled playfully at the grey-haired boy, amused by the funny display of seriousness.

"I just want to go somewhere far away...Anywhere but here...Someone, please take me away...I can't leave here on my own...I'm completely useless..." Princess Yukiko continued her complaining but with menacing smile directed at the team.

"Stop...Please stop..." Yukiko began pleading with her other self, but that shadow purposely did not listen to her beg…

"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave...So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come! I don't care where we go! Any where's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!" Princess Yukiko's rant became more explicit to the others…Yukiko spoke up in challenge.

"How dare you say such things with my face…!" Yukiko was offended by the shadow's language more so than her feelings being told out loud…whoa kinda sounded like Kanji there, Yu thought to himself.

"That's how I really feel. Isn't that right...me!?" Princess Yukiko flaunted with an arrogance in her tone of voice to her normal self, the princess waited patiently for the girl to talk back to her some more…

"N-No…" Yukiko's response was weak; the girl couldn't refute the true feelings deep inside herself as they were being brought out into the open…

"Stop! Don't say it!" Yosuke was in a panic; the others could watch as he called out to Yukiko but it was too late… She chooses to deny her other half…

"No! You're not me!" Yukiko shouted loudly at the smirking shadow princess, it went silent all around the room after that… suddenly the smaller shadows that remained in the castle quickly surged from all sides in the throne room and flew onto Princess Yukiko's body, merging with her to increase her power as her will was brimming with supremacy… She began glowing a dark aura…the investigation team readied themselves.

"HeeHeehee…This feels wonderful! It's building… more and more… if this keeps up… I'll… I'lll…Ahaha! Ahahahahahahaha!" Princess Yukiko began laughing herself mad as the surge of the smaller shadow's power knocked over Yukiko and putting her into unconsciousness… the princess's spoken words sounded lewder then they intended to be, the Fool thought for a while…he then refocused himself as there was a battle happening right now...He wanted to end this quickly.

"One of You **PRINCES** is eager to get this over with, Huh!? Well, I won't keep you waiting then…" The Shadow of Yukiko's eyes glared at Yu with contempt and disgust. She started transforming into a new form, the darkness of the shadows began to engulfed her completely… what emerged from this darkness was a large red-colored bird with glowing eyes and a face and hair resembling Yukiko's, it brandished its sharp teeth to form a slasher smile in place of the of where the beak would go… The red feathered creature sat inside a shiny golden bird cage (it's symbolic…) the cage itself was adorned on top of a hanging lit chandelier. The chain holding up the chandelier swung the golden cage back and forth in front of throne chair. Pink colored feathers fell slowly from above onto the floor as the Persona users gathered around the creature to fight it.

 **(KA-KAW!)**

*Fight Woosh*

{-I'LL FACE MYSELF-}

"We have to stop it! That girl's in danger!" Teddie told the others as he aggressively glared at **Shadow Yukiko…**

"It's all right, Yukiko-san...Just hang in there! We'll save you!" Yosuke called to Yukiko as he brandished his pair of kunai at the uncanny shadow. Yu quietly raised his sword and calmly prepared himself to battle this shadow once again… The Shadow inside the cage smiled deviously at him and spoke.

"I am a shadow… the true self…" Shadow Yukiko proudly and cheerfully declared to them and began flaunting her wings in delight, eager to kill them all with some hot fire…

"Teddie, watch over Yukiko while we take care of this!" Yu quickly commanded the bear, Teddie quickly came to the unconscious girl and comically dragged her behind a marble pillar in the room.

"It's all right, Yukiko... Just hang in there! We'll save you!" Chie called out to Yukiko as well, and readied herself to fight the other half of her best friend. The shadow just mockingly laughed at the spunky girl's words.

"Oh Really…? Then I'll make sure to give you plenty to deal with… you useless prince!" Shadow Yukiko began breathing fire like a dragon and started to send the scorching flames hurling towards the girl who was chosen over her own user… the intensity of the heat caused Chie to flinch but suddenly the heat of the flames was stopped by Orobas swiftly appearing in front of Chie and casted a magical fire-resistant barrier around the girl, Chie opened her eyes to see why the flames did not reach her… she noticed the fire wall had protected her… She then gave a quick look over to Yu who had just smashed one of his Persona cards for a moment of "thank god, you're here! You saved my butt!" but The Fool in good will, began loudly calling to her to snap into focus.

"Chie! Don't just stand there… we have to save Yukiko!" Yu shouted at her to remember, Chie nodded in resolve and began summoning her Persona Tomoe with a spin kick of her card. Tomoe answered to her call and casted Bufu on Shadow Yukiko, the exploding cold-white shards exposed The Shadow's weakness to ice magic, sending her falling to the ground from her glided cage, she began flapping her wings in a panic to the surprise of Yu who remembered that shadow Yukiko wasn't weak to ice before… THINGS HAVE CERTAINLY CHANGED INDEED! Narukami began mentally kicking himself with regret as he didn't bring Jack Frost with bufudyne for this one…he stood thinking until Yosuke loudly barked at him to come back to reality as they were fighting this bird thing right now...

They had the chance to go for an all-out attack on Shadow Yukiko and they took it. The three jumped on the vulnerable shadow and began creating a big ball of violence once again. Shadow Yukiko took a heavy blow from their assault and was angrier now more than ever, she hissed at Yu.

"You did this to us! This is your fault! Your fault! I'll kill you! And then we'll be free from this world once and for all!" Shadow Yukiko shouted then returned quickly to her cage and casted her 'Burn to Ashes' on the three persona users, the huge blaze rose from the ground below their feet and engulfed them and burned them slightly. As the raging fires burned him, Yu thought to himself about how much rejecting Yukiko had an effect on Konohana, he wasn't sure if finding a prince for her user was what she really wanted and that she's targeting him because he fitted that 'role' perfectly in her eyes until now. He shook himself from his thoughts this time...

"MEDIA!" Yu hastily summoned Orobas again to heal them all from Shadow Yukiko's flames. The Shadow grew more irritated as Yu's combat experience from previous battles in both now and the past cycles was proving useful against her. Yosuke and Chie both noticed that her words were directed at their leader for some unknown reason, what was going on?

"What does she mean it's his fault? He didn't do anything…did he?" Yosuke wondered and asked Jiraiya inside his mind as the song ended inside his headphones at the right moment but The Ninja Frog couldn't provide him the answer because he didn't know if it would break time to do so.

"I don't understand Tomoe, what's with this shadow? Why is she always angry and glaring at Yu-kun? Yukiko doesn't even know him like that…" A curious Chie quietly asked Tomoe as well, and She too could not give her user an answer as she would not truly understand why...yet. Shadow Yukiko grew angrier as the battle went on…

"What, are you trying to make me madder than I already am!? Fine! But we're not done yet!" Shadow Yukiko barked at them and called for a spotlight to shine down beside her, suddenly a humanoid shadow with stubby legs and wearing a prince's garb appeared and heeded to her call, he brandished a small sword and waited for orders from his summoner.

"My Charming Prince…Get rid of the disgusting Toad and his user first! Then kill the others but…leave the other boy alive for me!" Shadow Yukiko coldly commanded the Prince, He followed her request and dashed toward the Junes boy with his tiny sword and stubby feet. Yosuke gritted his teeth in hidden excitement as it was coming closer to him…

"Here's my chance to shine! Let's do this Jiraiya!" A bloodthirsty Yosuke called forth the ninja frog and commanded him to cast Garu on the shadow prince to blow him back like a cool guy. Jiraiya focused his hand sign for the spell, a surge of green wind formed under the Charming Prince's feet but it was resistant to his magic…it kept charging him.

"Oh crap, Chie! A-A little help please!" Yosuke was in a panic but still managed to cast Sukukaja at the last moment on the spunky girl so she could act quicker to save his ass. Chie smashed her Persona Card to his call, Tomoe appeared right above Yosuke and rained shards of ice on the shadow, causing the prince to slip and fall, much to Shadow Yukiko's embarrassment. Chie then followed up on her attack and commanded Tomoe to use mabufu on the pair of shadows. Tomoe twirled her Nagata to cast it, suddenly many small ice shards rained on both of the fiends... but Shadow Yukiko casted a white wall of magic to protect herself from being exposed to the ice attack.

"Hmph… looks like I had the wrong idea about you Chie-san, You're no useless prince but…a worthless commoner!" Shadow Yukiko angrily flapped her wings and used her Terror Voice to create fear in the girl's heart. Chie was forced into a vision of her worst fear, losing Yukiko. The Girl stood helpless and shaking in utter fright of the Shadow's mind games.

Shadow Yukiko with twisted pleasure used Shivering Rando and quickly raised the heavy gilded cage she was in high into the air… and attempted drop it on Chie in order to kill her for good…the chandelier fell at high velocity towards a defenseless Chie but miraculously Izanagi and Jiraiya hastily came to her rescue to counter the falling chandelier with a double parry using their weapons and sent the jealous shadow falling back onto the ground with her cage breaking apart on impact. Yu and Yosuke quickly came to Chie's aid to get rid of her fear. Shadow Yukiko began shaking in rage even more after watching that display happen…Yu was always there for her... She got back on her bird-like feet and then began flying in the air on her own, fueled by tranquil fury.

"Immortal Flame!" Shadow Yukiko took the team by surprise and began creating ring of fire in attempt to surrounded them but the intensity of the flames had managed to blew back Chie and Yosuke, leaving Yu trapped inside the blazing circle alone… with Shadow Yukiko.

"Damn it… Is this what you wanted? …Are you gonna kill me? Will that really solve all the drama!?" A brave and challenging Yu began to sweat under the heat of the flaming ring as Shadow Yukiko smiled with sinister intentions in mind. Yu raised his katana and attempted to strike her but was caught by the Charming Prince who knocked the sword out of his hands and proceeded to slash at him.

"Well, seeing Chie-san's face after you're roasted alive will help a little…HeeHee." Shadow Yukiko talked down to the Fool as the Prince approached the Fool on the ground with his sword.

"You're a crazy girl…Konohana, you know that?" An Injured Yu was pushed to ground by the Prince's sword, his two panicking friends tried to reach him but he called them off as the flames were too strong… before the shadow prince could finish him off, Yu summoned Izanagi to swiftly strike him with Tempest Slash followed by a cast of Ziodyne to kill the Prince off for good, Shadow Yukiko was shocked to see the Prince would not answer her call once more.

"My prince! My dear prince! Why…? Why won't he come!?" Shadow Yukiko angrily then lunged at Yu with her sharped claws but the Japanese God stood in the way and blocked her vengeful attack with his blade, there was a power struggle…the flames roared loudly and began engulfing the throne room.

"TELL ME! Tell me why! Why did that 'knight' in shining armor choose the commoner over the princess!? He was perfect for her… he could have freed her from this dullness in life! TELL ME!" Shadow Yukiko continued struggling against Izanagi but he was too powerful… he saw the emotions going through her eyes, all the pain and sorrow she must have felt made him tell her the truth…he spoke sternly to her, something he never wanted to do…

"Konohana, you say he choose to love Chie-san over your Yukiko-sama, right? You're wrong… it's not about finding the perfect one for you… and it's not about choosing one over the other either, it's really not that simple... It's about finding someone you can relate to, to have something genuine with... Yu found that with Chie-san and truthfully in my opinion he could have found that with Yukiko-san as well but things happen and we move on… Do you seriously believe that a man is needed in Yukiko's life to make her happy? She was always talked about wanting to be independent… making her dependent on someone else just like with Chie-san won't help that deep feeling she has at all." Izanagi's words were honest and even kinda ruined Yosuke's chances BUT they drove Shadow Yukiko to the point she began questioning herself… Shadow Yukiko was still unwilling to give up until she went for another question out of personal interest.

"W-Why Tomoe…and not me!? Why did you reciprocate her feelings over mine!?" Konohana childishly pressed Izanagi for his answer to that. He was reluctant to give it…

"For Starters, I didn't know you two had feelings for me, I just thought you two were overly friendly… I know, I'm an idiot… Second, I found the feeling of intimacy with Tomoe and well...with you I-I found that…!" A nervous Izanagi was pulled into Shadow Yukiko's uncanny face suddenly…

"Just say it already!" Shadow Yukiko demanded loudly, Izanagi sighed in reluctance…

"You're like a daughter to me…" A quiet Izanagi utter these words as he remembered the many come-ons Konohana told him and it only made him recoil from her…he shuttered at the thought of her coming on to him.

*Sound of glass breaking*

"Wh-What! No! How could that be!" Shadow Yukiko was speechless to say the least; she was distracted long enough for Jiraiya to extinguish the flames with his wind. He then followed up with a sonic punch to knock her off Izanagi, sending her crashing into the steps of the throne…

"Ugh, I-I'll get you for that you big ugly toad!" Shadow Yukiko hissed at The Ninja Frog who in return scoffed at her words.

"Ugly toad huh? Well at least I'm not some freaky bird girl with BOOBS!" Jiraiya then mocked the shadow by playfully holding a pair of imaginary boobs in front of him. Shadow Yukiko swore on that moment, when she became a persona again, she would choke him out.

"Chie! Get ready to finish it!" A burned out Yu pulled himself up and called to the girl whose green jacket was badly burned, she was very unhappy about it. Chie began charging towards the defenseless Shadow Yukiko at full speed. Chie smashed her Persona card, the yellow-cladded warrior appeared way in front of her path with a hand sticking out, the spunky girl came in running and took her Persona's hand, Tomoe launched her high into the air… an angry Chie then stuck her strongest foot out at Shadow Yukiko.

"Galaxy KICK!" Chie then forcefully drove her foot into the Shadow Yukiko's body, driving the bird-like fiend deeper into the rubble she was on, the amount of force from the spunky girl's kick destroyed the throne steps completely. Shadow Yukiko was defeated for good. THEY WON! YAY!

* * *

Omake #4

{Unknown Date}

[Shopping district, Daytime]

It was a cloudy day at the southern part of the shopping district when a young-looking and mysterious grey-haired girl wearing the Yasogami High uniform walked out of the Moel Gas station. She had a smile of delight on her face...

She stopped after reaching the sidewalk of the station to inspect the new body she gave herself to "fit in" with the humans living in Inaba… she admired how young and pretty she was now… The goddess touched her face in glee and excitement to live the normal everyday life of a teenage girl.

"Oh man, this totally beats just standing at the station on rainy days! I guess this means phase one of this new experiment is a success…" Yumiko curled a deviously cute smile as she pondered the next phases of her plan… she noticed a familiar presence… a raven-haired girl with some trendy-looking goth clothes stood on the road appearing to be in deep thought about something as she held a piece of paper in her hands... she was looking at it.

"Hmm… it seems those people behind that glowing blue door are taking care of her pretty well… I should give a nice hello at least." Yumiko decided to introduce 'herself' properly to the hipster girl… she put on a pleasant smile and walked over for a chat.

The grey-haired goddess in adorable disguise went behind the hipster-looking goth girl who was still busy looking at the small piece of paper with some writing on it. Yumiko decided to playfully tap her bare shoulder quickly… needless to say, the suddenness of the light touch from Yumiko's finger really startled the crap outta the goth girl.

"EEK! H-HUH?! WHAT IS IT!? W-WHO!?" Marie looked behind herself to see the gray-haired female student laughing a little at her expense of being really startled easily. A blushing and humiliated Marie turned her body around to face the strange girl with deep red eyes…

"Um… Who are you? Wait… you look familiar… Have we met before?" Marie examined closely the facial characteristics of the female student and compared them to a face of 'probably' someone she had met before… she really couldn't make out the face in her mind as her memory at that time was foggy… though she remembered this person had a distinct hat.

The goth girl of the Velvet Room clenched the small piece of paper close to her body to not let the female student see the embarrassing and cringy poem she wrote in her spare time.

"I think you mean my older brother who works at Moel, he was the one who found you a while ago and well… I wanted to see how you were doing… My name is Yumiko." The grey-haired girl spoke in a gentle manner and gave Marie a smile of thoughtfulness… The hipster girl was touched by the concern for her well-being but didn't really know how to show it.

"Uh…thanks? Oh by the way, my name is Marie…" A self-conscious Marie was really bad at talking to people… though Yumiko understood very well about that kind of stuff, you know with being generally awkward and weird around people.

"Marie… sounds very foreign… that's a nice name you have…" Yumiko wondered why that yellow-eyed blond woman choose that name specifically, the name sounded so odd to her… you know because she thinks Japan is the world, and being a Goddess of a small country could make you very ignorant of things like this… as Yumiko pondered on about it, Marie suddenly remembered that she needed to be the **FIRST GIRL** Yu Narukami meets when he comes to Inaba and had to leave in a hurry.

"Oh Ah… I-I need to be somewhere so bye!" An impatient Marie then went off running almost completely out of the shopping district until the grey-haired girl called out to her about something…Marie looked back over at Yumiko…

"Hey, you dropped this!" Yumiko shouted at the nervous-looking hipster while holding a small piece of paper in hand… a speechless Marie quickly felt all over herself to see the small paper really was gone. She rushed over to Yumiko before she could see her poem but it was too late; the damage was done...

A red-faced and ashamed Yumiko gazed at the badly written poem in disbelief, unable to utter any of the words on the crumbled piece of paper… it really made her feel self-conscious all of the sudden… Marie finally got to where Yumiko stood on the road, heavily breathing from running quickly back to her. The hipster girl was so embarrassed of her work being seen by others… all she could do was remain quiet.

"You write poetry, huh? Th-That's nice… I-I use to write poetry too…uhh…" Yumiko cringed as she had read the thing to herself and could barely look at Marie completely in the face, oh god it was so bad!

The nervous and now sweating hipster girl stretched out her hand for Yumiko to give back the poem while said grey-haired female student began thinking erratically to herself about what to do about this.

"I-I can't believe she does it too! She really is a younger me…GOD WHY did I think THIS STUFF was good back then!? I have to bury this somewhere so no one else can see my terrible writing… but WHERE!? ...I KNOW THE SHRINE!" An Abrupt Yumiko then went off running, leaving a trail of dust as normal townspeople in the shopping district turned their heads to see the grey-haired student dash quickly in one direction.

Her hasty action surprised Marie who expected to get the poem back easily and that not a word was to be spoken about this… needless to say, she was beyond upset.

"COME BACK HERE WITH MY WORK! YOU STUPIDBLOCKHEADDUMBJERKFACE!" An angry and blushing Marie shook her fist at Yumiko as she went after the female student to the abandoned shrine, also leaving behind a trail of dust as townspeople watched dumbfounded at this odd display of emotions…

And so on that day… began the beautiful friendship of Marie and Yumiko…

* * *

THE PERSONA COMPENDIUM ENTRIES #1,2, and 3

Izanagi

The creator of Japan, who was born as the seventh generation of twin couples along with his wife and sister, Izanami. The pair were tasked with creating the solid earth by the two Gods of the Shinto universe and their parents, Kuninotokotachi and Amenominakanushi.

The pair stood upon the floating bridge of Heaven, reaching down with the great jeweled spear and stirred the chaotic seas. The first drops that fell from the spear tip begat the first great landmass that allowed the duo to step down from Heaven.

The two united and Izanami gave birth to a hideously deformed being called Hiruko (who became a fisherman…on an unrelated note). So disgusted by this creature were they, that they set him aboard a boat and sent him adrift. The pair realized that Hiruko had been born because Izanami had spoken first at their wedding ceremony and so, they started again.

After this, the pair successfully managed to produce many children, some of whom became the islands of Japan ...But, while giving birth to the Fire God Kagutsuchi, Izanami passed away, not knowing she was weak to fire. So upset was Izanagi, that he set forth for the land of darkness, Yomi, where his wife's spirit rested. He was horrified however to find that she had become a rotted mockery of her former self and fled in terror ending their union forever.

By purifying himself in the sea after contact with the dead, many other gods were born from his body. **Amaterasu** from his left eye and **Tsukuyomi** from his right, along with **Susanoo** , who was born from his nostrils. Proud of these three noble children, Izanagi divided his kingdom in heaven among them.

* * *

Jiraya

Ninja from the Japanese folklore story 'Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya'. Born into the Ogata clan with the name Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki, he fled his home when the start of a new clan led to the fall of his own. He was left homeless and joined up with a bandit gang, where he would rise to become its leader.

As he was traveling he came across a gigantic toad being attacked by an equally large snake. As a chivalrous young man, he quickly saved the toad's life and in debt, the large amphibian granted him the power to transform into a toad form himself, and advised him to find the beautiful slug princess Tsunade.

The two would meet and fall in love almost instantly, marrying shortly after. Together they traveled around Japan until attacked by an old friend of Jiraiya's, the snake man Orochimaru, who was in pursuit of a princess named Tagoto.

To save the princess, Jiraiya and Tsunade fought against Orochimaru, but were poisoned by his venom. A young boy by the name of Rikimatsu saved them when he traveled to India to find the antidote. Back at full strength, the married couple fought Orochimaru again and finally came out triumphant.

Tomoe

Japanese woman warrior famous for her mastery in archery, swordsmanship and horse-riding. In the 12th Century, she fought beside the famous samurai Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the civil war that was tearing up Japan at the time and was either his wife or attendant.

During battles she acted as his first captain, and fought at the Battle of Awazu against Minamoto's cousin, Yoshitsune (...that one badass Persona you use against bosses). She fought as a warrior worth a **thousand** , and managed to kill Uchida Ieyoshi and behead Honda no Moroshige.

Sadly, this battle was her husband's last and as he died he commanded her to leave, for he was ashamed to die with a woman by his side...some say that he was jealous that she may die a more glorious death than him but who knows really...

It is unknown what happened to her afterwards, but in one tale it is said she took her husband's head so that no one could deface it and slew his enemies before walking into the sea to drown.

In another, she was captured by Wada Yoshimori and became his concubine. It is unknown if she was ever a real person, due to the differing stories surrounding her life, but the Tale of Heike, in which she first appeared is taken by historians to be mostly true.

* * *

Author's notes: Some serious feels are about to be had in the next chapter. Interesting question I got from a reader: Favorite Persona attack? Mine is Blade of Fury.

Also Trivia!: This started out as a Final Fantasy 8 fanfic before it was scrapped because I thought there was no demand for it.

Amouren's Notes: Ok so thats what i got for you. I toned it down a bit on my uhh as RRM puts it "Colorful language" as per RRM's request to keep it T for the viewers. My little contribution to the stairway scene Hope you liked it didnt really change much just added some descriptors and changed some of...a bit of...most of the dialogue in that particular scene. And as always enjoy. I know RRM has been working Round the clock on these.(trust me I know I can hardly keep up with him a lot of...most of...some of the time)

Side Notes:

\- "Immortal Flame" was actually a skill in the original Persona 4 that was cut from the main game.

-Title in the original was "Flames of love and regret"

-Izanagi's skills are based on his upgraded ones from the original Ps2 game. Like for example to Golden fans, Cleave would eventually become Tempest Slash through Magician arcana chance.

-Adachi was going to be a party member, but that was cut out for new developments in the story. (Read about that on profile)


	20. Chapter 20

Welcome to The Family! / Mr. Man of Legend – Chapter 20

{April 18, 2011} {Sunny}

[Yukiko's Castle, Throne Room]

The Shadow of Yukiko was ultimately defeated by the newly-formed investigation team… and also by Chie's pain-bringing foot. Normal Yukiko in the pink kimono was just waking up from her nap with Teddie still by her side, unaware of the intense battle that just took place…

"Ngh…" Yukiko muttered to herself about the heavy aches she felt as Teddie gently helped the girl sit up. They're heard footsteps coming to them quickly…it was the others.

"Yukiko, are you hurt!?" A very worried Chie ran to her awakened best friend near the marble pillar of safety with the boys right behind her… Yukiko gazed up at Chie from the ground and saw the worry and stress in her good friend's eyes… She looked over to her side and found the golden-eyed pink princess doppelganger still glowing with a dark aura, she standing away from them… watching her normal self quietly…

"No… I'm-" Yukiko looked at the princess with a weak glare, she was reluctant to accept the truths her doppelganger spoke… Yukiko stood up from the ground by herself as the princess began to look sad for some reason… Yosuke spoke out to his friend in the kimono with words of comfort to avoid any more conflict.

"We understand. You're not the only one like that, Yukiko-san. Everyone has something they can't show to other people, or don't want to admit to themselves..." Yosuke tried reassuring her, but it still remained hard for the girl to realize that a deep part of herself was brought out to the open for all to see… Chie spoke to Yukiko once more to apologize.

"Yukiko… I'm sorry." Chie began getting all weepy as she poured her heart out to Yukiko, she started wiping her tears with the green sleeves of her sweater but they kept running down her face…Yukiko couldn't believe her best friend was crying, she never cried to her before… she always had a smile on her face.

"I was so self-centered that I never understood what you were going through...I'm your friend, and I still...I'm so sorry..." Chie sobbed and continued to speak through her tears of regret… Yukiko was still looking at her in disbelief of this confession…

"Chie…" Yukiko tried to speak words of comfort to her but she was stuck at the moment, given the whole situation with her other self…

"I was always jealous of you, Yukiko. You had everything that I didn't...That jealousy was like a wall, and I was so lonely! I wanted you to need me. But it was me who needed you. I can't do anything right on my own...I've caused so much trouble for Yosuke and the others. If you weren't by my side, I... I wouldn't know what to do..." Chie stopped speaking and just started to cry only, the boys of the team who stood behind the usually spunky girl came up to her side, they both carefully comforted their crying female friend with words of reassurance and gentle smiles.

"Chie...I never saw the real you either. I was too busy trying to find an easy way out… please don't cry anymore…" A kind-hearted Yukiko admitted to her best friend and slowly pulled the girl into a soft tender embrace… The shadow princess continued to watch her normal self quietly…

Even the boys and their Personas started to get those good feels while watching this scene… Tomoe all the while secretly felt that she and Konohana couldn't stay friends the same way as their users could due to the recent events that transpired, though the guys are certain that they can work it out… Yukiko released Chie from the hug after a while and approached her other self to speak...

"I want to run away… I want someone to save me… You're right, those feelings are part of me, too… I understand now. You're me…" Yukiko told her other self who was dressed as a princess, the shadow began beaming with joy and hopped to her user, clasping their hands together in delight of hearing those words from her… Yukiko found that her shadow to be a little too enthusiastic for this but still reciprocated the same feeling of joy and relief… The Shadow continued smiling delightfully at Yukiko and soon faded up to be transfigured into a Persona, the figure that emerged from her shadow was highly feminine in form and looked similar to the characters of Neo-Featherman… the figure flourished her majestic cherry blossom-like wings… Yukiko thought she looked very beautiful and unique… her persona was glad that two of them were finally together again… She transfigured herself again but this time into a very 'special-looking' card that floated gently down and faded inside Yukiko's body…The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest... Yukiko has faced her other self. She has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Konohana Sakuya!

The Personas of the investigation Team rejoiced and celebrated Konohana's reawakening, but then Yukiko suddenly fell to her knees as she still felt physically drained due to the oppressive atmosphere of this place…

"Are you okay?" Yosuke asked the kimono girl on the ground, he wanted to try and help Yukiko to her feet just like how Yu did with Chie… but he chickened out at the last moment…maybe next time.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired…" Yukiko weakly responded to his concern, looking very fatigued indeed… she looked around herself to see that Chie, Yosuke, and even the transfer student Yu Narukami who barely knew her at all (technically) had come to find her in this strange world.

"You all came to rescue me?" Yukiko was pretty surprised to see them all risking their very lives to save her… She was beyond touched at this feat of heroism from her friends.

"Of course!" Yu, the acting leader of the newly formed team of Persona users told the girl in the kimono honestly with a bright smile in relief that she was okay…

"Thank you..." Yukiko had a smile of her own, she tried to keep standing but couldn't and fell to her knees once again, thankfully Chie was there to pick her up.

"Don't even mention it. I'm just so glad you're safe…" The teary-eyed girl gently pulled Yukiko up with both hands on to her feet and helped her keep balance for the rest of the time…

"Hehe...Right on!" Yosuke was glad that everything was over as well, He also had a nice smile to show Yukiko.

"So, who threw you in here?" Teddie was curious and asked the girl that was trapped in this castle…

"Huh? Who are you? Rather...What are you?" Yukiko took in the sight of the strange bear standing in front of her… he looked pretty goofy, she admitted to herself.

"I'm Teddie! So, who threw you in?" Teddie responded to the fine-looking girl's question.

"I don't know. I think...someone called my name...But my memory's a blur. I can't remember who it was. I'm sorry, um...Teddie." Yukiko really didn't have clue who did this to her… Yu had to remain silent. It really pained him to just watch this all play out when he knows what's going to happen.

"No new clues..." Teddie admitted sadly, these messy situations still remain a problem for the bear to live peacefully in the TV world.

"Not necessarily. Now we know for sure that someone threw Yukiko-san in here." Yosuke still wanted to keep hope in the search of the culprit.

"Hrmm...Then it really isn't you guys..." Teddie begrudgingly admitted to himself rather quietly…

"Are you satisfied now?" Yu managed to hear the bear and playfully called him out for it…

"I-I always believed it wasn't you guys!" A panicked Teddie insisted this idea to his sensei.

"You little…! You're one lying sack of honey…" An irritated Yosuke added to their conversation, he was also peeved at the end bear for thinking that too.

"Anyways, let's hurry back home. Yukiko looks exhausted. Thanks again, Teddie!" A grateful Chie told the bear as she started to help Yukiko walk back to the castle's entrance.

"Huh? Wait, you're leaving me here?" Teddie didn't want to be alone, Yu understood that feeling as he too was pretty lonely before coming to Inaba…but those days were over thankfully.

"Leaving you? What're you talking about? You live here…" Yosuke honestly responded to Teddie with what he told him.

"Well…yeah, but…" Teddie was still sad about being left here by himself, and also scared too since there's now a crazy strong bonus boss lurking around in the TV world.

"I'm sorry, Teddie. I promise to come again... So be a good boy and wait until then, okay?" The kindhearted Yukiko summoned the strength she still had in her feet to walk over to Teddie and placed a nice gentle hand on the bear's head.

"R-Raaaawr! My, it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else? C'mon...Pretty please?" Teddie was becoming enamored with Yukiko and tried his luck, much to Yosuke's chagrin.

"Gah! You're giving me the creeps! That's it, you're stuck here for the rest of your life!" A pretty annoyed and jealous Yosuke told the bear, the group soon made their way back to the entrance of the Midnight Channel…

* * *

[Adachi's "really plain" apartment complex, After School]

After an intense session of studying on Adachi's couch for a while, the grey-haired Goddess felt she was a little more knowledgeable about stuff in the world now more than ever before. (Knowledge increased!) Yumiko was very happy of her personal achievements for the afternoon… But she was also very tired too.

"Man, I feel exhausted from learning all that human math and history…" The hardworking Yumiko wiped some sweat from her pale forehead, Magatsu-Izanagi stood nearby where she was studying. He was actually a little astonished that she was able to do such menial human tasks for a long period of time.

"Would you like me to show where your room will be…?" Magatsu-Izanagi courteously asked the Yasogami student with crimson eyes, Yumiko cutely nodded 'yes' to his question. She stood up from the couch, looking very worn-out from doing a lot homework from her classes…

Magatsu-Izanagi then led the young girl down a small hallway in the apartment… He stood near a doorway at the end of it, and to the very opposite of that same doorway was Adachi's room.

"Here you go kiddo…and please try not to make too much noise, Adachi hates that very much…especially when it's from teenagers…" The Reverse Persona gently advised her about 'what not to do' in Adachi's house…or apartment, whatever. Yumiko then walked into the guest room and slowly laid her school stuff near the small bed…

"Thanks a lot… You know… for being that creep's persona, you're actually a really nice guy… I'm very glad." Yumiko after setting her personal things down in the room, turned to face Magatsu-Izanagi at the door and decided to give him a tender smile… her gentle crimson eyes looked to be in relief of something also… The Reverse Persona began pondering inside, wondering if there were some deep meaning behind those words of hers… he decided to think about it later.

The two stood and gazed at each other for a bit in uncertainty of what to do next… the God of Calamity wasn't much for words of appreciation but was grateful indeed, he quietly nodded once to her in thanks for the compliment at the expense of Adachi's social image…

"Honestly, that man should learn how to appreciate me for all the work I do in the way that this nice young lady does…" A somewhat irritated Magatsu-Izanagi told himself about his rather selfish user and slowly closed the door to her bedroom and headed to Adachi's to discuss on how they're gonna go about their home life with a girl now living here…

As The God of Calamity opened the door to Adachi's room, he found his user casually laying on his bed with an expression of displeasure at the current situation they're in…

"Man, I can't believe we gotta deal with another damn brat along with the rest of them too…" Adachi complained to his Persona rather indiscreetly about their new female roommate… The young detective sat up on his bedside and began thinking if there was a way out of this…nope.

"Look on the bright side, at least that 'Crawling Chaos' guy isn't living with us as well, That's honestly a big plus in my book!" Magatsu-Izanagi cheerfully did his best comfort Adachi about all of this.

"Guess you're right… I just hope Kashihara's niece doesn't annoy me as much as Dojima-san's shit nephew does…" Adachi's mood appeared to have eased up at least a little after hearing that fact…

"Besides after getting to know the young girl for a small time, having her stay here at our place isn't all that bad… thou should at least try to act nice around her too…" Magatsu-Izanagi tried his luck for Adachi to be nicer around the home especially when he cooks for him… The Reverse Persona just wants some well-deserved praise dammit…

 **(Ring-Ring)** Before Adachi the hypocritical murderer could argue that all teenagers are in fact terrible people, he received a phone call on his cell from his partner Dojima, telling him that there's still busy work to be done…

"Shit, now I gotta get back at it… again." Adachi then reluctantly began putting on his work clothes to do the same boring police routine around Inaba for the night.

"So, you coming with me…?" Adachi asked his Persona mindlessly while adjusting his red tie in the mirror of his room.

"I don't know if thou should leave the girl here alone by herself… she may accidentally burn the place down for all we know…" Magatsu-Izanagi had a fair point despite not knowing the full cooking ability of Yumiko's.

"Ugh…well fine then, the girl can come too… we can just leave her at the station for the time being…" A well-dressed Adachi added as he got his house keys from the dresser in his room.

"Wait, isn't today one of the times thou have dinner at thy partner's home with his family?" Magatsu-Izanagi thought for a moment and he was accurately right about that. He then headed out of the room to get Yumiko for this fun little field trip…

"Aw shit… hope Dojima-san doesn't chew my head off if we ask for another spot at the table…" Adachi uttered under his breath and faced palmed in annoyance as he had forgotten about that one thing specifically, oh this is gonna be a drag… taking care of a teenager is the worst, Adachi thought to himself…

The three roommates headed out of the apartment complex after Adachi and his Persona convinced Yumiko that they weren't trying to murder her…Boy, dinner at the Dojima's gonna be really awkward this time around!

* * *

[Junes department Store, After School]

While the others discuss a little with Yukiko about who could have possibly threw her in the TV, their personas needed to clear the air between themselves so there wouldn't be any problems in the future… though things like this are difficult as everyone in the group seems to have some sort of crush on Izanagi. Konohana was able to physically appear to her friends for a while but did not want strain her already worn-out Yukiko-sama… The skeptical-looking cherry blossom goddess with her arms folded stood opposite to her yellow cladded warrior friend while their two male friends and Orobas watched from the sidelines… both Izanagi and Jiraiya were praying to prevent a potential catfight between the two women.

Tomoe was a little nervous to speak with her since she had gotten with Izanagi before Konohana could come back to even have a chance at love with him, this made the yellow-cladded warrior feel like she was a cheater for making the first move without worrying about any opposition… everyone's body seized up as Konohana spoke first.

"So, I saw what happened between you and Izanagi in the Castle-" Before Konohana could even finish what she was saying, an abrupt Tomoe fell to her knees in sorrow and quickly bowed to the cherry blossom goddess in order to plead forgiveness… not for herself but for her master.

"I-I completely understand if you hate me for taking Izanagi but please… Forgive Master for her actions in the past… she cares very much for Yukiko-san and her happiness, she didn't mean to take it all away from her… My only plea is for you to allow them to remain friends even if that means we cannot…" Tomoe hanged her head in sadness as she spoke her only request to Konohana. There was only silence between them for a while… when Tomoe raised her head to see why it was so quiet, she saw that Konohana had a hand out to her… The kneeling yellow-cladded warrior looked up at her friend's face in disbelief.

"Tomoe, you're being overly dramatic about this and I'm not angry with you at all… so please just take my hand… I want to speak with you face to face because… you're still special to me no matter what happens… even if that means I have to move on…" Konohana spoke in a pleasant tone to Tomoe as she had a hand out which sorta made her warrior friend a little wary of any ulterior motives…but this was really just her being paranoid. Tomoe took her hand up and the two met face to face.

"I-I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but this a little unlike you Konohana… why the sudden change of heart?" Tomoe innocently questioned Konohana as this kind of gentleness was very uncharacteristic of her… the cherry blossom goddess was a little nervous to give her an answer…

"When I was fighting with Izanagi in that ring of fire, I learned something I should have known long ago… My role in Yukiko-sama's life isn't to give her happiness but to help her become a better person as a whole… In my blind pursuit to give a sense of satisfaction in her life, I neglected the very bonds that allowed my user to be here like she is now… I truly can't fathom where she would be if Chie-san didn't become her best friend… I was too selfish to see that. Now, I want to help Yukiko-sama stand tall by herself, and for me to be strong enough so she wouldn't feel like a burden to others… we both wish to show Chie-san and you that we are your equals… Of course our users can stay friends! We're friends too are we not?" Konohana spoke in a sincere tone, Tomoe had listened to her words with full attention, she and the others were surprised at what they heard from her…

"Konohana… I don't know what to say…" Tomoe was at lost for words. After a while of silence between them… Tomoe and Konohana came close to each other and tenderly embraced as both still wanted to be friends. Both thier male friends and Orobas sighed in relief…

Izanagi and Jiraiya decided to join them in the loving embrace and it soon became a nice group hug… Izanagi peeked out and noticed that Orobas stood away from them… looking a little lonely… The Japanese God gestured over to him to join because why not, the Redhorse man then leaped into the air and then awkwardly pranced over to them in delight to be part of this sweet moment… it was nice… but then a really salty Jiraya opened his mouth.

"Hey Tomoe, I managed to hear them through the roaring flames and I know that wasn't all she learned from Izanagi, He also considers her as-" Suddenly, Jiraiya was tackled to the ground by an angry and embarrassed Konohana who then proceeded to try and choke him out with her hands to keep him quiet about that… The others became frantic and tried prying the two off each other, Izanagi and Tomoe were struggling to get the cherry blossom goddess to budge despite both of them being mostly physical types. Jiraiya spoke in a strained voice as he was being strangled by Konohana…

"G-Guys, Help! She's trying to kill me and she's not even a shadow!" Jiraiya tried his greatest to remove Konohana's grip on him, their two panicking friends and a surprisingly calm Orobas continued to try and break it up.

"Konohana don't kill him! Yosuke-san and Yukiko-san still have to get together!" Izanagi foolishly stated out to her as he tried to free Jiraiya from her grasp, Konohana's face turned even more red than it already was… that was a secret between her and the frog or so she thought, Konohana began glaring down at Jiraiya…

"H-Huh, what did Izanagi just say!? …DID YOU TELL THEM ABOUT THAT!" A flustered Konohana lit herself on fire as she began tightening her grip on the Ninja Frog…

Jiraiya started blaming Izanagi for making the already dire situation worst… The others continued to freak out as the whole scene began escalating… the flames from Konohana's fury started to spread to Junes… oh god, N-NOW let's get back to the investigation team!

* * *

[Junes department store, After School]

The three members of the newly-formed group and Yukiko all gathered in a shaded 'Junes exclusive' bench table. Yukiko and Chie sat together on one side of it while the guys were standing around them…

"Yukiko…? Are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" Chie asked and examined her friend beside her out of worry.

"No, I'm just a little tired..." Yukiko responded to her in a weary tone, though it still didn't stop Chie from being such a worry wart…

"Do you remember anything?" Yu calmly asked Yukiko as she carefully rubbed her eyes of sleepiness.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything..." Yukiko expressed sadly, feeling bad that this may lead to another dead end in the case.

"Well, no worries! You're safe, and that's more than enough." Chie reassured Yukiko with a smile and a gentle hand of comfort to her shoulder…

"But there's no mistake that Yukiko-san was, um...attacked, the same way as the last two victims. And I think the one we saw on the Midnight Channel wasn't the real Yukiko-san, but her Shadow. Maybe the things she was suppressing in this world took form in the TV...?" Yosuke explained his newly-formed thoughts to them and went for a shot in the dark explanation, The Fool knew he was super right about that… and was really feeling the itch to just blurt out the answer to get it over with but couldn't because Philemon might pop outta nowhere and reset the whole day… so he remained silent for the time and just imagined what if Chie was a cute cat girl… he likes!

"You know, Teddie was saying something like that…" Chie told Yosuke from her seat… and then noticed Yu-kun was in deep thought about something… she wondered what it is.

"Awww, it's no use. I'm just going round and round in circles. What kinda person could be doing this?" Yosuke racked his brain in frustration. Yu came out of his pleasant thoughts and decided the best course of action for Yukiko.

"Let's just call it a day…" Yu told them as he knew Yukiko didn't have much energy left, Chie agreed with him.

"Yeah, we can go over it some other day. Yukiko really needs to get some rest. I'll take her home." Chie then helped Yukiko out of her seat and began walking her out of Junes… with an uneasy-looking Tomoe and 'relatively calm' Konohana following them back home…

"Oh, that's right...Sorry. Yukiko-san must be exhausted. We'll talk about this some more once she gets her strength back." Yosuke told his partner… they both shook hands in relief that they managed to get their friend out in one piece. The Junes boy began remembering about something…

"Wait a minute, you still have to explain to me what the heck was going with that glowing blue door in the entrance hall and the huge monster that ambushed us, well really thanks to Teddie anyways…" Yosuke began gearing up in excitement as he waited for and explanation from his partner… Yu recalled that promise too… but then remembered he was running late for dinner… he wanted to be there so Nanako could have someone to eat with.

"Oh yeah, I-I'll tell you once Yukiko recovers, I promise! Uh, Hey look! W-Why is Jiraiya on the ground!?" Yu with quick-thinking pointed over to an unconscious and charred Jiraiya on the ground behind his partner, as Yosuke gazed over his shoulder, he became flabbergasted at the sight of his burnt persona and quickly ran to him to find out what the hell just happened… Yu hastily signaled over to Izanagi who was in the middle of tending to the Ninja Frog that they needed to leave in hurry because it almost dinner time… the two quickly left the scene and ran all the way together to Dojima's house in comedic fashion. Yosuke after reviving his Persona, began looking around to see that his partner had disappeared… he became annoyed.

"…Oh God dammit Yu!" The Junes boy thought to himself as he kneeled to a now conscious and blackened Jiraiya as he let out a puff of smoke… it seemed that Konohana made good on her promise after coming back… unbeknownst to Yosuke and his Persona… a beautiful blue butterfly was watching the whole time… it fluttered in the direction to where Yu Narukami had gone to…

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Late into the Evening]

The Fool and his persona managed to get home only minutes before dinner was supposed to start. In the meantime, Yu sat himself down at the small living room table for some tea time with Nanako… as they both quietly watched the TV in the corner for a while, the two heard knocking at the front door of the house. Dojima, ace detective and bumbling father was back from work…

"He's home!" Nanako jumped up from her spot at the table in glee that her dad could join them at home for once… She then became slightly disappointed as she noticed a strange man and… a young teenage girl following her dad inside the living room.

"Um… hello…" The young girl awkwardly greeted the stranger with the red tie, Nanako then curiously gazed over behind him to the very strange-looking teenage girl with grey hair that reached down to her shoulders. The girl's hair was similar in shade but a little darker than her cousin's…

Nanako additionally noticed that this strange grey-haired girl looked kinda too excited to be here… Yu stopped sipping his tea and turned his head over to where his uncle and police partner stood as he felt another presence alongside them…from his spot, he noticed Adachi playing the fool like he had before he had been found out. Peeking out from behind the snake in the grass detective was a petite gray haired girl, wearing what looked like a Yasogami High uniform, the pin on the collar of the top indicating that she was a first year.

The strange-looking girl caught the fine-looking boy sitting by the table staring at her so she decided to cutely smile at him for his troubles… Yu wondered why she was with them and pondered if she could be associated with Adachi in some way, though he was more wigged out by the fact that this teenage girl looked eerily similar to him all be it in a much more feminine way, with the biggest difference being a set of piercing crimson eyes...

"Hi there…" Adachi then responded to Nanako in a nice and friendly tone of voice, concealing himself again with his signature butt monkey personality…

"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place. I thought we might swing by." Dojima explained to his daughter and nephew.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring." Adachi introduces himself playfully to the two youngsters, Doijma scoffed at him.

"I can still work you harder, you know." Dojima remarked under his breath but loud enough for his rookie partner to hear him.

"Haha, good one, Sir! Ha...ha...Oh, I almost forgot! You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right? They found her safe and sound! Tell all your friends at school!" An eccentric Adachi told the grey-haired protagonist sitting down the news he already knew…

"All thanks to you guys right? That's a relief for sure…" Yu responded to the young detective in a slightly sarcastic tone of voice in spite of who he really is… the grey-haired girl noticed there was some beef between the two men through observing their hateful glances to each other, she kept that noted in the back of her mind for safe keeping later on… Adachi decided to ignore the kid's rude ass tone.

"…Yeah, for us on the force too. But this doesn't mean the case is closed, though. We were just questioning Ms. Amagi, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And we can't figure out her whereabouts during the missing period, either. It's like she really disappeared. It's all pretty fishy, if you ask me...Like there's something else going on." Adachi rambled on and on about police exclusive info like he usually does until… ***SLAP***

"Ow!" Adachi exclaimed as he was slapped lightly from behind by an irritated Dojima, he really disliked Adachi's motor mouth ways with sensitive information.

"Stop blabbering, dumbass!" Dojima roughly scolded his rookie cop partner in front of the kids. Yumiko snickered quietly behind them as she thought it was pretty funny, the younger detective sneered at the cheeky girl behind him in annoyance... living with each other was gonna be tough indeed.

"Sorry..." Adachi proceeded to apologize to his older partner. Dojima then noticed the sort of awkward stares from both his daughter and nephew...

"Ignore him. He's just spouting some wild fantasy…" The stern uncle spoke to Yu directly while brushing off Adachi's comments as he knew his nephew was friends with the Amagi girl.

"Yukiko really isn't involved." Yu clarified that to him in response, his uncle understood not to make any assumptions of people before there was a real reason to.

"…Yeah, I know. Anyway, don't mind him. He can be a real pain sometimes." Dojima added as he glared at Adachi for being such a screw up even for a rookie cop no less…

"I'm hungry." Nanako whined to her dad and the others as dinner time was passing, her small stomach rumbled loudly for all to hear… Dojima's demeanor became very soft and gentle for his little girl.

"Hey, you're right. My stomach's growling too…" Dojima expressed to his daughter with a funny-looking grin in amusement.

"Hahaha, so you do have a softer side around Nanako-chan, Sir." Adachi remarked playfully, only to get shut down quickly by his partner.

"Shut up and siddown…And wash those hands first! Hm, I should do the same…" As Dojima and Adachi went to wash their hands in the kitchen sink, the grey-haired girl sat herself down in the living room with Yu and Nanako. She introduced herself properly to them shortly after doing so.

"Hello fellow teenager! My name is Yumiko Shirasagi, nice to meet you!" Yumiko exclaimed cheerfully with a comical hand wave to the boy beside her spot at the table, she was also leaning her face close to him in interest while speaking… Yu found that introduction to be kinda… odd but at least she was polite about it even if coming off as a little too friendly... Yumiko continued to lean in on him, too close! Whoa, Hello! Welcome to Yu's personal space!

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you too, I'm Yu Narukami… I see that you're a first year from Yasogami High, it's still kinda strange that I've never seen you around school before…" The grey-haired boy awkwardly spaced himself from Yumiko's spot and inquired about that to her, still speculating if she was associated with Adachi in some way.

"I entered school just today… so I do hope you and I could get along swimmingly, Senpai!" The strange girl with the crimson eyes responded honestly to Yu's inquiry, but he still remained a little suspicious about her nonetheless. The grey-haired girl turned her attention to the younger of the two cousins.

"And who might you be little one?" Yumiko said, her voice slipping slightly into a somewhat maternal tone of voice not really seen in a fifteen year old girl.

"I'm Nanako Dojima, um... It's nice to meet you, Yumiko-chan." Nanako spoke politely from her spot at the table to the grey-haired girl and finished with a nice smile. Yumiko smiled sweetly at the young girl as she found her to be very adorable with the way she speaks. Yu couldn't help but feel a bit off put with how easily she was able to shift from that eccentric demeanor to this almost chilling calm.

"Well, If you're going to the same school as my cousin, I hope you can get along with each other too!" Nanako stated to Yumiko rather cheerfully. Yumiko suddenly began to look over to our grey-haired protagonist which resulted in startling him slightly as little Nanako had unknowingly put him back in the interest of the strange girl's eye once again. Yu decided to consult with Izanagi in his mind for his own thoughts on the girl.

"This girl sure is mysterious, what do you think Izanagi?" Yu waited for Izanagi to give his point of view but did not receive an answer. he dug through his mind but couldn't find the Japanese God anywhere… where is he?

"…Uh…Izanagi…?" Unbeknownst to him, The Japanese God had dismissed himself earlier to his user's room upstairs as he needed to catch up with some reading on his favorite manga series. He also had a guest over too.

* * *

[Yu Narukami's Room, Late in the Evening]

Izanagi and Magatsu-Izanagi were upstairs together since they didn't want to disturb their user's dinnertime. They both were sitting in the middle of Yu's room, facing each other with both of their legs crossed. The Japanese God was quietly reading Witch Detective since he wasn't able to finish it earlier with all that's happened recently. Magatsu-Izanagi was pretty bored since he had nothing to do in this space. The God of Calamity decided to make some small talk in the meantime.

"How peculiar, I believe this is the first time I've met you face to face outside the battlefield…" Magatsu-Izanagi told his good counterpart with a slightly fascinated tone of voice.

"…it's very strange for me too, I thought you would be a very unpleasant fellow but I guess you can't always judge a book by its cover, huh." Izanagi remarked and then continued to read Witch Detective quietly.

The Japanese God was too absorbed into the world of Girls and Vampires to really talk with his corrupted counterpart. Magatsu-Izanagi looked at the cover of whatever his good counterpart was reading and became confused as to why it was so interesting to him… Izanagi surprisingly spoke to him again despite his attention being mostly on the book…

"So who's that very strange girl having dinner with my user's family downstairs? It seems that Adachi brought her over for some reason…" Izanagi was curious as he managed to caught a glimpse of her from the window of Yu's room. He also wondered if Adachi went back to his old ways of being a creepy guy around girls again.

"Don't know, we met the girl just today but she's really nice so I wouldn't worry about it… Me and Adachi are taking care of her wellbeing in meantime…" Magatsu-Izanagi's words sort of flabbergasted Izanagi a little inside… because you know, Adachi just loves to kill young pretty girls and all that jazz. The Japanese God decided to change the subject to something else in order to get more secret info for his user.

"That reminds me, how in the world do you remember this year being reset? I would like to know…" Izanagi questioned the corrupted counterpart as he read the trashy manga. Izanagi recalled the fact that his group of Persona pals kept their memories in this new cycle due to the trinkets Yu had gotten from the bonds with his friends… so how could Magatsu-Izanagi remember too?

"I'm not foolish enough to tell you that, though I did find it baffling when my arcana had somehow changed suddenly from the Fool to the Jester in this new cycle…" Magatsu-Izanagi calmly responded though began thinking more about that weird change in himself.

"Well that's certainly odd indeed… I wonder if it was something in the structure of reality that caused the change to happen…" Izanagi found that to be a little bizarre as well and knew he wasn't gonna get an answer as to why his corrupted counterpart remembers anytime soon but at least he tried... The Japanese God kept reading his book in silence… Magatsu-Izanagi realized that the discussion between them had ended just like that and was back to simply sitting and being bored… the God of Calamity later decided to end his boredom with a little competition in mind.

"Hmm, since we've become eternal rivals from the first time we dueled... I challenge you to something to prove that I am indeed the stronger one once and for all!" Magatsu-Izanagi declared in an arrogant tone of voice. The God of Calamity wanted to prove he was the superior one since he still felt sore about losing to Izanagi during their first battle. Though, the Japanese God didn't take it as seriously as his counterpart did…

"A Game…? Sure, what do you have in mind?" Izanagi looked up from his book in interest of something right next to his corrupted counterpart…

Magatsu-Izanagi turned his body over to where the Japanese God was seeing and noticed Yu's standard PlayStation 2 placed on the ground underneath the TV set.

"…Does your user have any fighting games?" The God of Calamity asked Izanagi curiously as he got up and searched through Yu's rather big collection of PS2 games in the cabinet next to the TV.

"Actually no, He only has single player and party games…" Izanagi said to his corrupted counterpart in honesty, Magatsu-Izanagi then started wondering why that was… and then remembered Yu Narukami was someone that had lots of friends to play games with compared to his user Adachi… but that still doesn't explain why he doesn't have games like Tekken or Soul Calibur…

"Aw screw it, I'll just beat your completion time on one of these single player games then…" Magatsu-Izanagi continued looking through Yu Narukami's collection of games… Izanagi chuckled quietly to himself in overconfidence as his corrupted counterpart said that… He had the chance to get some reading time without any more disturbances for a while, so he took it…

"Sure! But I get to pick the game…" Izanagi had a sly look in his eyes as The Japanese God had a certain game in mind, he raised the book to cover the inner mischievous expression on his face… The God of Calamity was pretty confident to face anything.

"Fine, You're on Izanagi!" Magatsu-Izanagi declared with confidence to him as he began hooking up the PlayStation 2 to the small TV with the cute pink alligator on top. Izanagi gleefully took out a certain game disc from the collection and placed into the console's tray, he closed the disc cover and turned on the TV, the Japanese God then went back to reading in peace as his corrupted counterpart was gonna be busy for a while… Oh this is gonna be a fun night!

* * *

[Living room, late in the Evening]

While Yumiko was busy trying to get all cozy at the family table with the hesitant and also fine-looking boy of the household, Doijma and Adachi started talking near the kitchen sink…

"…So Adachi, care to explain to me why we had to babysit this strange girl while on our police duty?" Dojima questioned his partner in the law as he dried his hands behind him.

"Sorry Dojima-san, I'm taking care of her as a favor to someone I met a while back and I couldn't leave her alone this time… I promise this won't happen again…" Adachi genuinely apologized to his older partner as he continued to wash his hands…

"I understand your situation since I'm caring for an older kid myself, just keep a close eye on her and don't let her get into trouble, okay?" The old detective advised him for the future.

"I know… thanks Dojima-san." Adachi responded to him with sincerity, he finished washing up.

After cleaning themselves, Dojima and Adachi sat down at that table with the kids. It really seems that dinner promises to be more lively this time around! The group of guests and household members began chatting about everyday life and junk they saw on TV before. Yumiko called over to Nanako as the little girl looked to be a little disappointed earlier to have strangers come during family dinnertime…

"Nanako-san, I truly apologize if we are intruding in your family time… but thank you for having us nonetheless…" Yumiko then courteously bowed her head to the young girl of justice. Nanako felt the need to let her know it's fine.

"Oh! Don't be sorry…um, Yumiko-chan! I just hope the ghosts that started living here welcome you to our home too!" Nanako cheerfully stated to the nice grey-haired girl. What the young girl said about ghosts however, greatly confused Adachi as to what she means.

"Ghosts…? Oh, that's right…ghosts…" Adachi looked over to Narukami and Dojima for an answer to that but then quickly realized Nanako probably meant Personas. The young detective began wondering if Nanako somehow had the ability to sense them being around in this cycle, unaware that was it actually the fault of a certain Ninja Frog's clumsiness…

Yu thought more of when it would be a good time to introduce Izanagi to his cousin and tell her about all of this stuff, which was something he didn't do in the last cycle because it was too silly for someone normal to believe without experiencing the craziness in full… though, he was pretty sure now that his younger cousin would believe him if he told her, all thanks to Jiraya!

"Nanako, I've told you this before… our house isn't haunted, you're probably just seeing things, maybe its too much television you're watching…" An honestly pretty rational Dojima simply thought what his daughter said about there being ghosts around was just her colorful child-like imagination.

"B-But I did heard Yu speaking with them!" Nanako argued to her father about how she heard her older cousin talking to them a while ago… which made Adachi and Yu tense up in uneasiness as Dojima started to look at his daughter with some concern but then ultimately brushed it off as nonsense once more, the two persona users were relieved in their minds.

"Don't worry Nanako-san, I believe you… I've actually seen them with my own eyes!" Yumiko genuinely supported the young girl's belief that there were ghosts lurking in their home since she had ties with both of them…

Nanako could see that she was being sincere and thanked her for giving more confidence in her wonder. The old detective and father sighed in defeat as his little girl of justice remained stubborn about it… he'll let his kid keep dreaming until she's older…

"So, Miss Shirasagi… are you new to Inaba? I don't believe I've ever seen you around town…" Dojima changed the topic of the conversation over to the young lady that he and Adachi had to babysit all day at the station… Yumiko was pretty hesitant to respond to his question, but she began speaking though with a light tone of gloominess in her voice…

"No, I've lived here since I was a child… I was home-schooled so I never really got the chance to meet with kids my age… and because of that I was always very nervous around new people, they would always look at me like I was a complete weirdo even when they didn't know me that well... that affected me so much... I wasn't able to have any true friends because I was too scared of getting rejected like that again. But since I started going to Yasogami High, it gave me hope that this was the chance to show my true self to people and be able to connect more closely with others… and... to have them around me so I won't feel lonely all the time…" Yumiko had a sad smile on her face as she told them about herself in a very sincere tone of voice. It went quiet in the room after she spoke…

Both Dojima and Nanako were visibly moved by her words, Yu started thinking that she kinda reminded him of himself when he was younger… he was always moving around the city so the friends he made weren't with him for long… he walked alone most of the time until coming to this small town and meeting such great people that made him think that being lonely didn't matter as long as he had friends that were behind him in spirit… Adachi himself was pretty touched too until he realized she probably made that shit up on the spot… Dojima spoke again but this time with some newfound empathy.

"Ahem… Well Miss Shirasagi, since it was your first day of regular school, you're probably having trouble finding where everything is… I hope my nephew can show you around Yasogami since he started a while ago as a second year student… he could probably introduce you to some people if you need help making friends, isn't that right Yu…?" Dojima and even Nanako began looking at the grey-haired protagonist with expectation as he was put right on the spot to help the cute lower classman find her bearings…

Yumiko also began looking at the fine-looking boy with high expectation too, Yu started to think that this was totally a prerequisite for a Social Link of some sort… but this girl sure reminds him of someone…

"I-I guess I could show you around for a bit, how about during lunch time…?" Yu felt somewhat uneasy as he asked the mysterious girl with crimson eyes of when it was a good time to do this tour around school, she began to look visibly pleased by the sudden turn of events…

"I would love to… Narukami-senpai!" Yumiko began beaming in happiness as she suddenly came over and embraced her upperclassman lovingly… as a nervous-looking Yu was squeezed tightly by his new kohai Yumiko, he started having war flashbacks of the times when he was bonding with Rise… oh mother of messiah this is gonna be rough! Suddenly everyone at the dinner table began hearing muffled videogame music coming from the upstairs…

" _Kimi wa ne tashika ni ano toki watashi no soba ni ita Itsudatte itsudatte itsudatte sugu yoko de waratteita nakushitemo Torimodosu kimi wo…"_

"What the hell is that…?" Adachi spoke as he heard rather familiar sounding music from above… Nanako asserted her belief to the group as she was shut down earlier by her dad in front of everyone.

"I told you guys, it's the ghosts!" Nanako became eccentric that she was right and proclaimed this to them… Yu recognized the theme music that was faintly playing… It was for PERSONA 3 FES!

" _I will never leave you…"_

* * *

[Yu Narukami's room, Midnight]

After saying goodbye to their house guests, Yu decided to call it a night and headed up to his room after a crazy day of fighting shadows and meeting strange girls…

The Fool found his Persona sleeping in a pretty awkward position on the love seat in his room with Witch Detective covering his face as he snored loudly, Yu then noticed something over by the TV, the screen was showing the first Full Moon boss fight in Persona 3… he simply shut the game off since he already finished it and he didn't have the time to do new game plus… he was also too tired to deal with Izanagi so he decided to just leave him on the couch like that… The grey-haired protagonist got his futon ready and went to bed… he soon began dreaming…

{ **Yu Narukami's Bizarre Dream Adventure part 2** }

The heat was almost unbearable. The hot, summer sun beating down on their heads as they made their way through the crowed Los Angeles streets towards the massive stadium that was slowly being filled with a rather...particular type of people. It had been almost five years since the murders in Inaba, and almost two years since he had finally built up enough courage to ask her to marry him. And so here they were two months after they were officially married at the Yaso-Inaba Shrine, finally on their Honeymoon. And Yu couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man alive.

As to why He and Chie where currently in LA well that was- "HEEELLOOOO AND WELCOME TO THE 33rd ANNUAL TENKAICHI BUDOKAI!" a rather exuberant and excited voice echoed out from the inside of the overcrowded stadium.

"O-ohh ho its finally starting! YEAHHH!" Chie shouted along with the crowd as they got to their seats. The pure amount of energy that the crowd was emitting was electrifying as the two fighters made their way to the center of the stadium. But Yu couldn't help but not pay any attention to them as his attention was focused on his wife's beaming smile.

Even now the sight of Chie smiling never failed to bring him back to the day he returned to Inaba and saw her standing there, waiting at the train station, wearing that small blue flower necklace he had hidden in his old shoe locker for her to find… She had grown her hair out a bit more since they left high school not as it was at the end of their third year but long enough that his uncle wouldn't heckle her during her police internships and residencies. He was so lost in his thought that he almost didn't notice her arms wrap around his neck, as her deep brown eyes gazed lovingly into his own grey eyes.

"Yknow. darling~" Chie said testing the words on her tongue… she continued to speak…

"When you said we were going on a trip I was expecting… I dunno a weekend getaway to like Okinawa or something, Not this!" A pleasantly surprised Chie spoke to her husband, he laughed a bit even after all these years she still hadn't changed…

"Like I would do something as mundane for our honeymoon as a beach getaway. You deserve nothing less than something you love." Yu told her wholeheartedly.

"Idiot, you know damn well that as long as I was with you than it wouldn't matter if we were just at the Amagi inn." She said blushing as she leaned forward and her lips met his… when they broke neither one of them could help but let a smile come to their faces.

"Although...I don't think Yukiko would appreciate the noise." He said with a sly grin coming to his face, which earned him a slap on his shoulder in response.

"Y-You don't say that out looooud, geeeez we're in public…" Chie said as a not so subtle blush came to her face…she looked away from him for a bit, Yu became even more playful, he leaned onto her from his seat.

"Aw Chie come on, I was just joking…" Playboy Yu Narukami framed a sincere smile and waited for her to face him. After a short while… Chie turned her head back over to him… and for some crazy reason… she had a half-white butterfly mask on her face accompanied with a cheeky smile… Yu instantly dropped his flirtatious attitude and went into an expression of shock, he fell from his seat in the stadium as Philemon had appeared in his dream in the form of Chie.

"Hello Yu Narukami, we need to discuss a few things about your journey in the second cycle." Philemon's voice was heard from Chie's mouth, the grey-haired protagonist began yelling and pointing at Philemon like a madman in horror of what he was seeing, also realizing Philemon had kissed him right on the lips… Yu's state of shock lasted for a while… the former master of the Velvet Room had to calm him down from going insane…

* * *

THE PERSONA COMPENDIUM ENTRIES #4

Konohana Sakuya

Princess of blossoms and the daughter of the God of the Mountain, Ohoyamatsumi. She was also worshipped as the God of Mt. Fuji and legends say that she stops it from erupting. Her symbol is the cherry blossom. One day, she met the God Ninigi at the seashore and fell in love with him. Ninigi asked her father for her hand in marriage but he wanted Ninigi to marry his eldest daughter instead. When Ninigi steadfastly refused, he allowed Sakuya to marry him. In just one day, Sakuya became pregnant, causing Ninigi to become suspicious, believing the child was not his. Sakuya was so angry, she entered a doorless hut that she set fire to and declared that the child would not be hurt if it truly was Ninigi's. (in other versions of this story has Ninigi burning the hut while she was inside, what a dick right?)

There in the blaze, she gave birth to three sons, Hoderi, Hosuseri and Hoori.

* * *

Author's notes: Oh god, this was a long time coming but somehow we've reached ten thousand views a little over a week ago! Guys, thank you very much! Since this was the last story heavy chapter for a while, I can update much sooner! Please read and review!

Details of scrapped or cut story elements I would like to share with all of you since we've reached a milestone!:

-The original main antagonist of this fanfic was going to be both Philemon and Nyarthalotep, and in the final battle Igor would allowed Yu to summon the WHOLE PANTHEON of demons at once to defeat them for good. Other ideas for villains was the duo of Yumiko and Marie.

-Yumiko was originally going to be another fragment of Izanami-no-Mikoto, instead of Izanami herself.

-Yu Narukami would have found out that he's actually named Souji Seta but I thought it was pointless mindscrew at this point.

-There would have been a "World of Ruin" arc set in the future where Yu had been trapped in the sea of souls and then freed himself only to find that's he aged up by five years and realized the world has gone to shit because Persona 5 didn't happen. He later meets up with his aged up friends and family in Tokyo which was turned into a haven from the Fog and Shadows, the team all thought he was dead... Yu meets an older and cooler Yosuke with an eyepatch and finds out that Teddie reverted back to a normal shadow tragically, you know all the tropes that indicate this is some sort of fucked up future. Yu also finds that Kanji and Naoto are a thing now, unsurprisingly. Yu reunites with Chie and they marry (since they might die later) shortly before him and a crew of four people go back to ruined shadow-infested Inaba for the final battle with the true culprit, someone who was working with Izanami in secret (and no it wasn't Nyarthalotep)

Other:

Besides the original fanfic by Zangar, this fanfic was greatily influenced by other good fanfics like: The Amagi obsession, Persona 4: Platinum, and Persona 4: the Rest of Our Lives.


	21. Chapter 21

Hidden Dark Secret - Chapter 21

{April 19, 2011} {Sunny/Cloudy}

[Inside Yu's dream, After Midnight]

Yu and Philemon were now right outside the martial arts tournament stadium after that fiasco that took place in the last chapter, though the grey-haired protagonist was still pretty upset about that… They stood in what was apparently a parking lot inside the dream world…

"Are you feeling composed now, Yu Narukami? You look pale… if what just happened back there still bothers you, I would like to tell you that it was weird for me too…" Philemon told the chosen Wild Card sounding rather casual about it. The Former Master of the Velvet Room was still appearing to him in the form of Chie.

"C-Can you not wear Chie's face when you're talking… it's kinda freaking me out to hear your voice for the first time coming from my girlfriend's mouth…" Yu asked Philemon as he began to cringe at what he just said. Yu was also unpleased that the eldritch God kinda crashed his dream with the best girl.

In response to his request, Philemon soon changed his body from Chie to his usual form, he had the appearance of a young man with dark hair and a ponytail, complete with his partial butterfly mask that looked like something straight outta the phantom of the opera.

"I honestly thought choosing a form you're comfortable with would be the best way to approach you but I guess appearing as your love interest wasn't the best idea…" Philemon stated the obvious as he looked away from the grey-haired protagonist in contemplation of what to tell him.

"Concerning your journey, you probably have many questions in mind. I have revealed myself inside your realm of unconsciousness as a request from my servants to relieve any trepidations you may have in the search for the real truth, so why not ask away?" Philemon was pretty curt as he spoke with the Velvet room guest.

"Okay… then tell me, why does Adachi Tohru remember everything that happened throughout the year like I do? I want to know if that actually poses a threat to me and friends in our investigation…" Yu inquired to Philemon as he was truly curious to know why this is.

"Do you recall your conversation with Igor about me and the entity that opposes humanity's potential? Well, his name is Nyarlathotep and he chose Adachi in the same way I did for you…" Philemon stated vaguely to Yu who was unsurprising still puzzled.

"Being the God of pure evil that he is, Nyarlathotep decided to annoyingly even out the playing field in my plan for your journey by retaining the culprit's memories and sending him into the past. You'd think this would be an obstacle but in reality, it's actually failsafe move created just for you, Adachi is simply another key you need in the search for the real truth. By making him remember everything, it will make this all easier for you not to mess up again." As Philemon said his piece, Yu began recalling the words Margaret and Igor said to him before about being a key to all of this… but wait a minute… what was this about a failsafe move?

"Wait, you're telling me that you and Nyarlathotep are working together to help me on this? I thought you two were always sworn enemies or something like that, am I wrong?" Yu began to feel like he was being bamboozled as this whole thing could be some sort of conspiracy to mess with him…

"Well, you're not wrong about that... Nyarlathotep and I have our reasons for working together though it was mostly because we were bullied to by someone... but I cannot tell you who as of this moment… besides this someone could be eavesdropping on us right now…" Philemon whispered to Narukami in a low voice, he seemed uneasy about who ever could it be.

"Who? Wait… where is Izanagi by the way?" Yu began looking around his dream curiously but could not find his Persona anywhere in his dream.

"If you're wondering about your Persona, I merely put him outside your mind to rest since he seemed pretty tired… so any more questions?" Philemon stated to him clearly, it's not like Izanagi needed to know this all anyway.

"Yeah I'm wondering about these two girls I've just met a little while ago, Marie and Yumiko. Do they play some important role in all of this too?" Yu mentioned them to Philemon out of speculation, The Eldritch God of good and Time Master cleared his throat and spoke.

"Oh they absolutely do, even more important than you're currently thinking. Still, you have nothing to worry about as of this moment. In the meantime, just relax and stay focused on your investigation." Philemon's answer was pretty short and vague to Yu, but he had figured that Philemon wasn't exactly supposed to be very helpful since it's his story after all. Philemon began taking his leave as the grey-haired protagonist began processing all the information he received from him.

"If you have more questions, you could find me wherever close by to ask… and I'll be there to rewind time if you screw up...again. I am one of your guides on this journey after all…" Philemon gave the Velvet Room guest a dutiful nod and disappeared into nothingness as he began to awaken in his bed in the real world…

* * *

{Dojima's Residence}

[Yu's Room, Early Morning]

The grey-haired boy opened his eyes slightly to the ceiling of his room, he got up slowly from the futon to find his persona Izanagi still on the couch but he was wide awake for this sunrise…

"Good morning!" A rejuvenated Izanagi told his user with a cheery tone, Yu gave the Japanese God a tired smile because he was still pretty sleepy, he got out of bed and began preparing himself. The two later started talking while Yu ironed his uniform for the school day ahead.

"Hey Izanagi, why were you playing Persona 3 so loudly? Nanako and everyone else heard you from downstairs…" Yu spoke with the persona using his mind in curiosity as he ironed out the creases from his white shirt.

"I apologize but it wasn't me, it was Magatsu-Izanagi's fault…" Izanagi told his user honestly, Yu became perplexed by what he heard.

"Wait…Adachi's Persona? Ah, how come You guys were hanging out together here?" The grey-haired boy was curious to know why the killer's Persona was up in his room with Izanagi.

"He came up here because he didn't want to disturb Adachi and the others, we talked a bit and I realized he wasn't that bad of a guy… he also told me that he does the cooking for Adachi…" Izanagi even began thinking of his corrupt counterpart as a new friend. Yu was baffled by Izanagi's words but ultimately believed him.

"What really? I wouldn't think that Persona of a serial killer would be all that outgoing. Well then, just try not to be so noisy when they come over again…" Yu instructed Izanagi carefully because he didn't want to get in trouble with Dojima about that again, the Japanese God nodded in agreement. (RING-RING) Yu's flip phone started up… it was probably Margaret calling him like she did last time.

"Hello! Just calling to remind you of the importance of Social Links and using your days wisely, because bonds shape your world yadda yadda and all that, okay bye…" Margaret started upbeat during the call but then quickly ended on a lazy note. Yu was puzzled as to why she was half-assing her bit but shrugged it off as her feeling his struggle of literally doing this all again.

"Do thou think she's probably still upset about having to find thy Persona compendium tirelessly inside Igor's huge office?" Izanagi suggested this to Yu, who simply shrugged since he didn't really know.

"Maybe, but I did tell Margaret that I'll make it easy for her by taking Marie off her hands once and a while so I think she'll be fine, anyways let's head to school…" As Yu spoke, he was reminded of his duty to tour his newfound kohai Yumiko around Yasogami High.

"Hey Izanagi, did Magatsu mention anything about the girl that was downstairs with us?" Yu inquired to the Japanese God, he pondered for a moment.

"He said that him and Adachi were looking after her for a while at their place and that she's a really nice girl…that's all I know…" Izanagi revealed this small piece of info to his user.

"This girl really is mysterious indeed… but if she's nice then maybe she's not all that bad…" Yu thought to himself, he decided to test fate. With this little tour he's giving to her, this could be the chance to learn more about her and what she has to do with Adachi… Yu got his school blazer on and his book bag ready. The grey-haired protagonist and his Persona Izanagi began making their way out of the home and on to the path to Yasogami High.

* * *

{Yasogami High School}

[1st floor of the main building, Lunch-time]

Yumiko was inside the ladies' room on the first floor. She looked at herself nervously in the bathroom mirror as she wanted to look adorable and appealing because today was the day she was going to spend with her beloved senpai.

"Oh crap! Why am I so n-nervous today!? I-I mean it's been a long time since we spent time together like this but for some reason my cheeks are so flushed and my heart won't stop thumping in my chest… oh God my hands are all sweating too!" Yumiko then tried to cool herself by splashing some cold water on her face using the bathroom sink… but that just got her uniform top all wet.

"OH GOD! Why did this happen in the worst of times!" Yumiko shouted irritably in her mind as she looked down at herself, she put her greatest effort to dry up since lunch-time was almost over. Yu Narukami waited patiently in the middle of the school foyer after having lunch with Chie and Yosuke, wondering what was holding Yumiko up.

"Maybe Yumiko's lost somewhere? …Nah, I'll just wait here for her…" Yu thought to himself diligently as regular students walked by him, suddenly a small finger quickly tapped on his shoulder which made him jump in surprise. He turned his head over to see who it was.

"H-Hello Narukami-senpai! Are you ready to show me around school for a bit…?" Yumiko smiled brightly at her upperclassman, though she looked like was dunked inside a water tank you would find at some cheap carnival, little wet drips fell from her winter uniform and onto the wooden floor of the school.

"Uh…are you okay, Yumiko? You don't look very well… I think you may have a fever. Here let me see…" Big Bro Yu had noticed his kohai's cheeks were rosy for some strange reason and proceeded to check her forehead with his hand carefully, he also had moved his face closer to hers to see if she was indeed sick. Yumiko started feeling the soft…nice…touch of his hand but then realized her senpai's face was too close that it was making her feel even more uneasy. (oh the irony…)

"S-Senpai I'm fine, really! L-Let's just get going with our date-ImeanTOUR!" A panicking Yumiko waved off his concern. The blushing grey-haired girl moved quickly away from Narukami's face and turned her body away from him… she started fanning herself to calm down and not get all sweaty in front of her precious senpai as other first year students walked by them and began whispering in interest of this display.

"You sure? Well, don't push yourself too hard… I don't want my kohai to get sick…" Yu then framed a sincere smile on his face for Yumiko and planted his hand gently on her shoulder. The grey-haired girl's heart started fluttering in awe after seeing her senpai's genuine worry for her well-being… Her nervous state of mind suddenly started feeling tranquil inside too.

"Y-Yeah… I'm very sure senpai! Come on, Let's go!" A cheery and lightly blushing Yumiko then quickly hitched her arm around Yu's and started dragging him to wherever they were going for lunch-time.

"I'm quite surprised by how much she looks like thou, with the exception of those particular red eyes she has…" Izanagi commented in interest after getting a good look at the girl's face up close from within the realm inside Yu's head.

The two 'not twins' started in the first floor of the main school building. Other students who were watching the odd pair walk around began discussing if they were related due to the striking resemblance between them. For the first stop of the tour, the grey-haired protagonist led Yumiko to the school's faculty office just beside the foyer of the main building.

"This is the faculty office, this is where you ask school staff for help in finding your class number and any info on clubs or extra-curricular activities that you're interested in…" Yu carefully educated his observant kohai with slight enthusiasm in his voice.

"Okay got it senpai! …so is this place where the teachers eat and sleep? It's looks kinda small…" An innocent and precious Yumiko looked inside the sliding door window of the office in curiosity. Yu was pretty dumbfounded by her proclamation but admitted that he was rather entertained by her strange unfamiliarity with regular school life.

"…" Yumiko waited for her senpai to answer her question but then realized that it probably sounded weird to humans and became visibly embarrassed by her own words. Yu with a rather amused face, patted Yumiko's head lightly to comfort her humiliation but it was too late…

"Hehe, I use to think that way too…" Izanagi started laughing heartily at the girl's curiosity in Yu's mind. The two Yasogami students eagerly continued their tour of the school. They went to the nurse's office just down from their previous stop.

"This is the nurse's office, if you get sick or hurt at school, this is where you would go for assistance." Yu showed the room to his Kohai, Yumiko looked around the infirmary with visible interest…

"Can theses healers of students cure awful curses or cleanse evils from the soul? No…? (sighs)…Is that also weird to say too…?" A pretty worn out Yumiko inquired Narukami-senpai right beside her in order to not humiliate herself again.

"Hehe no, but you probably play too many RPGs for your own good." Yu began chuckling to himself as the grey-haired girl started fuming because he was playfully teasing her. Despite the fact that Yumiko does not know what an RPG is… Within Yu's mind, Izanagi felt a little sorry for Yumiko and her plight but still had another good laugh.

"You big meanie…" A visibly angry Yumiko uttered quietly, she looked away in a childish manner from the currently laughing protagonist as her face began to glow red in shame. The two continued on to the practice building of Yasogami High.

They entered the first floor of the structure from the courtyard that separated this building from the main school building.

"And here is where you would find the clubrooms of the school, so do any of them catch your interest?" Yu asked his young kohai as she began wondering down the practice building hallway while looking at the classroom markers in curiosity, she found one that caught her eye… Home Economics…

"What's this place senpai?" Yumiko began looking through the window to see many Home Ec students making sweets in the school-owned ovens and others cooking exquisite dishes to absolute perfection, it also smelled really good in there... the grey-haired girl wondered if she had what it takes to master such a difficult craft to win her senpai's heart from future contending suiters… She would try her best. Yu looked to see what she was looking at and noticed the marker on the classroom…oh GOD!

"Oh, you want to learn cooking huh? Or do you already know how to?" Yu looked composed for his Kohai on the outside but he began screaming loudly 'no' over and over again like a madman in his mind as he did not want to taste Mystery Food X: Yumiko Edition. He really hoped that she would answer with the latter.

"A-Actually, I don't but I want to learn in order to impress someone I know…" Yumiko began blushing and turned her head away from her senpai's face while smiling nervously. She tapped the tip of her school shoe against the wooden floor like a school girl madly love. Yu observed her behavior closely and began having more war flashbacks about his bonding with Yukiko and her cooking… he does care for her feelings but… no just no.

(RING-RING) The school bell indicated that lunch-time was over. Yu then walked the young girl back to the first floor of the main building, he wondered which of the classrooms was hers…

"Hey Yumiko, do you know which first year classroom you're assigned to?" Yu asked his kohai beside him in the hallway as various students began returning to their rooms for class time again.

"I believe its room 1-2…" Yumiko told him in response, it seemed like she wanted to say something else to him, she fidgeted a little as she wasn't use to speaking with humans on a normal basis.

"Th-Thank you Narukami-senpai, I had a lot of fun today with learning where to go at school… let's hang out again sometime!" Yumiko exclaimed to the tall grey-haired protagonist, Yu respectfully nodded to her in agreement.

" **Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hunger Arcana."**

Izanagi proclaimed this dramatically in Yu's mind, even coming out of his user's body for emphasis in this event. Yu thought The Japanese God was overdoing himself a little than usual. Yumiko tried her best not to chuckle at her beloved Izanagi's silliness… She waved goodbye to Yu and headed inside her classroom.

"Hunger? Never seen this tarot card before… and by the looks of it, it's the same number as Strength…" Izanagi curiously examined the card from within Yu's mind.

"It's probably from the Thoth Tarot deck which is pretty strange since none of the other cards are from that deck, this certainly is an eyebrow raiser… but then again, Philemon did say not to worry about her… I'll have to trust his word…" Yu pondered deeply as he returned to his classroom on the second floor of the main building.

After leading this school tour for the new first year named Yumiko Shirasagi, the grey-haired protagonist decided to rejoin the basketball club after school simply to hear his good friend Kou talk about how much He Loooves Them Balls again. After his initial practice meeting with his sports club companions, Yu decided to go home for a bit…

* * *

[Shopping district, Evening]

As Yu and Izanagi had more freedom to explore Inaba at night, they decided to take a trip to the shopping district in the South for some late night gemstone trading for junk out of lady Shiroku's garage. After trying to bargain with the hostess due to the rather outrageous prices she has for her stuff, Yu decided to take his business elsewhere to the north part of the shopping district. The annoyed grey-haired protagonist walked up road of the shopping district in the cold dark night with Izanagi beside him, they soon came across Yosuke and Jiraiya curiously standing just outside the Konishi liquor store at the peak of the uphill road… Yu approached his buddy for a chat.

"Oh Hey Yu, my shift ended early today, so I was just wandering around. If you're bored, maybe you wouldn't mind talking for a while?" Yosuke formed a smile on his face to his new pal.

"Man, You're one unlucky guy. As soon as you transfer here, this murder stuff starts. That normally never happens here! In fact...normally, nothing ever happens here. Well, let me know if you find yourself bored. If you don't mind having me around, I'll hang out with you whenever you want." Yosuke seemed desperate, but the grey-haired boy kindly took him up on the offer.

"Thanks. You know, we could hang tomorrow if you got time…" Yu suggested to his magician friend while trying to think if this event happened in the last cycle, things really have change in the world.

"Hehe, Sure let's get some food together!" Yosuke seemed excited to hang out tomorrow, Yu wondered if these chats could be helpful in bonding time with his friends.

"So tell me, did you bring everything with you from the city? Yeah, when I moved here, it was such a pain unpacking everything that I was using one of the moving boxes as a desk..." Yosuke wondered curiously about that… Jiraiya and Izanagi decided to chat about some stuff a short distance from their users…

"Hello Jiraiya, how are you?" Izanagi asked his buddy next to him as they looked over their small town together from the peak of the uphill road in the shopping district.

"I'm okay… I guess…" Jiraiya seemed gloomy as he was hanging his head in a sulky manner, Izanagi found his mood to be quite unexpected.

"Are you sure? …Still thinking about what Orobas said inside the castle about your wife you can't seem to remember at all?" Izanagi curiously inquired to his sad-looking frog friend.

"Yeah, I still cannot recall much of the past before being awakened as Yosuke's Persona… You know, sometimes I wonder if I'm really Jiraiya… I feel there's something more to me and I know that because as I was transfigured into some guy named 'Susanoo' in the last cycle… I wonder if that's the 'real' me… I tried searching for this Susanoo guy on Yosuke's computer but can't really find anything about him other than he was a God of Storms…" Jiraiya wondered this about himself, Izanagi always felt that name was familiar to him for some strange reason…Susanoo.

"Just remember that Tomoe and I promised you to help rediscover your past… it's strange that I don't feel that way too, I've always remembered being Izanagi… but we can start the search for your true-self tomorrow if you like…" The Japanese God told his frog buddy in a comforting tone of voice.

"Thanks Izanagi… you know for an old guy, you're still a pretty cool dude…" An earnest Jiraiya honestly spoke his feelings towards his pal despite knowing the God's sensitivity about his age…

"I-I'm not that old! I'm pretty sure I was born at least after the dinosaurs…" Izanagi was very sure about that or least appeared to be…

"Crap, how long have we been talking here? We should both be getting home… Oh yeah! Here, have this. I've heard it's pretty good. Well, see ya!" Yosuke quickly handed an average cough drop to his tall grey-haired buddy and started heading home with Jiraiya after a quick farewell… Yu began wondering why just a single cough drop and not a couple of them instead? Ah who cares… He began heading back home with Izanagi.

* * *

{Sea of Souls}

[The Land of Shadows, unknown exact time] [Credited to my editor Amouren]

How long had it been exactly? How long had it been since she had last seen the outside world? She had since lost count of the eons as She looked out at the constantly shifting landscape of the astral sea from inside of her cage… this infernal cage, imposed upon those who deemed him a failure of a guardian to the grand deity of this realm.

Even after all this time inside this cage, it still disgusted her to think that those in the world of humans, thought themselves greater than the gods they once worshipped for so long, especially in this...modern era. With the Shadows created by those as old as time itself being overpopulated by… the vermin and ungrateful mortals… Just thinking about it caused her cage to shake and rumble with a sort of **thunderous** **fury**.

But… she couldn't let this distract her. Because of the foolishness of those **on the outside tinkering with** **the strands of time** … for reasons she did not quite understand… she found that the shackles on his cage loosed a bit. All he had to do was be patient... and wait for the cracks to appear wide enough for her to seep his influence… into the real world. She didn't care how long it took… she had plans for the imperfections known as humanity. And she was a very patient shadow…

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry guys, College work caught up to me so I focused on that but It's all good now! Report any errors to me that I missed somehow!

-My choice for Yumiko's Arcana is based on the decisions she makes in the story as it progresses plus I thought it was a waste of a perfectly good Tarot Card since Adachi was already the Jester.

-Yumiko's classroom was originally going to be shared with Kanji. I changed it for funny scenarios in the future.

-If you don't know, The Sea of Souls is where the entities and SMT demons live in the Persona universe.


	22. Chapter 22

Magician Rank 2 - Chapter 22

{April 20, 2011} {Cloudy}

Yu walked near the Samegawa floodplains on the way to Yasogami with his persona Izanagi closely following him... Among the two, there were several other students doing the exact same thing… Curiously though, the grey-haired protagonist noticed Hisano Kuroda off to the side of the path opposite to the river… The old lady of the Death Arcana was peacefully feeding a stray kitten in her mourning clothes…

"Oh, Are you hungry? Or are you lonely…? Haha...Of course. Everyone is lonely." Hisano uttered to herself quietly as she fed the small stray, Yu manage to hear her speak those words and felt bad about having her go through that whole process of regret about her dead husband once more, but he and Izanagi also guiltily gushed how small and cute the little kitty was too… Chie and Tomoe were some ways behind the secret cat lovers…They noticed the pair and decided to catch up to them. The energetic Chie quickly ran up to the left side of the grey-haired boy and greeted him with her smile…

"Morning! Hey, did you see that just now? What a cute cat. Yukiko and me gave it some food a while back, but it just won't take to me. Oh well, I'm more of a dog person anyway! Oh yeah, I got a text from Yukiko. She said she's slowly getting better. Doesn't seem like there's any weird lasting effects, so that's good." Chie spoken with optimism in her tone… she was glad that this stuff was over, at least for a while anyways…

"I'm relieved to hear that…" Yu told her with sincerity for their mutual friend Yukiko. Chie nodded to him in agreement.

"All we have to do is wait until she gets better. Let's hold off on the other stuff until then." Chie asserted with a serious-looking face to her tall grey-haired leader, though he thought that she looked kinda cute while doing that face. Their Personas were beside each other too and followed them closely to school.

"Good morning Tomoe, how are you feeling this fine day?" Izanagi asked the Yellow-cladded with an upbeat tone of voice… though he noticed that Tomoe was in deep thought about something.

"Okay, for the most part… What we learned about Jiraya back at the castle dungeon really got me thinking about myself too…" Tomoe told him truthfully with a sigh as the Japanese God grew puzzled about what she said.

"What do you mean?" Izanagi asked her to clarify.

"Jiraiya couldn't remember someone that was special to him from his past life… I wonder if something could have taken his memories away, and the stuff he was saying about his legend not being necessarily true. Now, I'm starting to wonder if the memories of my past life aren't true as well…" Tomoe lamented to her secret lover as he listened carefully to her personal problems…

"Well, you guys did transfigure into different forms upon the resolves spoken by your users, so maybe your true identities lie within those forms. Even if we've been through this before and we do it again this time, and somehow you still can't remember being that person after transforming… In any case, you're still you and that's all that really matters…" Izanagi laid his gentle hand on her shoulder and tried his best to comfort her doubts.

"Thank you, Izanagi…" Tomoe seemed to have cheered up a bit from his words.

"Well if you still have doubts, you could always talk to me, remember that…" The caring Japanese God continued to support her. She was grateful that Izanagi always had her back when she needed it.

"Of course, maybe when Yu-kun and Master have their private time… we can have ours to talk…" Tomoe began looking at him with cheerful expectation using her pair of glowing eyes. Izanagi had agreed to help her too along with Jiraiya in this crisis of identity… Is this how it is to be his user every day? It's really overwhelming to be a Persona protagonist!

As Tomoe and Izanagi continued to talk about other topics of interest while following their respective users to school… A particular grey-haired girl holding her school bag was a distance behind the Personas and looked visibly upset at the sight of them together, and by upset I mean she glared at them while snapping a pencil in half between her teeth in annoyance…

* * *

{Shopping District North}

[Souzai Daigaku, After School]

After their classes ended, Yosuke approached his handsome grey-haired partner in the hallway of the first floor for their date today that was disguised as a friendship outing… The two boys headed to the shopping district which is hurting for business ever since the Junes department store had come to this town a while ago… they decided to eat the famously tough conquettes from Souzai Daigaku. They were sitting at the small table outside the food stand…

"Sticking chunks of steak in Conquettes… Man, this really is country huh? But it is good...though it's tough. Chie called this stuff "tender and juicy." What kinda teeth does she have?" Yosuke wondered as he looked as his food in curiosity of how Chie could eat this stuff with such ease and then noticed his grey-haired friend on the other side of the table munching the conquettes without any difficulty for some reason, The Junes boy was a little astonished at this and started to question if his teeth were just very weak… I guess going to eating with the spunky meat-loving girl after training all those times had strengthened Narukami significantly… A pair of local women were walking passed the two boys at the table and began shit talking with each other about Yosuke loudly enough for the boys to hear them.

"He's from Junes...Yasogami High School, right?" One of the ladies began gossiping with talkative friend in front of them.

"His classmate...Sato-san? Went out of business..." The talkative friend mentioned the konishi family's situation which caused the Junes Boy to wince in bitterness at her words, the grey-haired protagonist had stopped enjoying his steak as the pair of women continued on and on about Yosuke as he began to hang his head in shame…

 **"** This shopping district could disappear, and yet..." The gossiping lady suddenly stopped herself from speaking as she noticed the grey-haired boy coldly staring at them in disgust from his table because of their audacity to speak of such sensitive things so off-handedly… The two women quickly walked away from them to avoid any verbal confrontation, Yu stopped his icy cold stare as Yosuke lifted his head to speak again…

"Sorry about that. You know me, I'm infamous around here." Yosuke perked up a little as he started nonchalantly hand waving away the bad gossip that was spoken about him. The Fool knew that his Magician friend was hurting on the inside about Saki Konishi and coming to terms with his own personal feelings, it was hard for him to let Yosuke act tough even if he knows how he feels…it wasn't the time to talk about such a heavy subject yet.

"It must be tough…" Yu told him quietly, he began eating his conquettes again… after seeing this a second time, he really thought more of how hard Yosuke has it with the town's people… Yosuke would always smile to hide that pain…

"Nahhh, it's not really. It's mainly my parents. I'm not personally involved. Anyways, there's nothing I can do about it." Yosuke shrugged his shoulders to show Yu that it didn't bother him too much...

"I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me, at school or around town. Not that I mind, but...It sucks that I always gotta mind my manners. Still, this croquette is damn good, huh? I'm gonna have another. You want one too, right?" Yosuke casually offered his friend some more steak croquettes despite the fact that the grey-haired boy had eaten so many of them already…On top of Souzai Daigaku, Izanagi and Jiraiya were trying to channel memories from the past…

"Alright just like we've practiced over and over… focus your mind Jiraiya… You can do this!" Izanagi cheered on his best friend as the Ninja Frog closed his eyes and began holding his head tightly to recall anything from his past…minutes have gone by… Jiraiya began grunting as he saw a vision, it was blurry but…IT WAS THE PAST!

"What do you see Jiraiya?" The Japanese God grew curious as Jiraiya tried refocusing the blurry vision he was seeing… it was still too blurry to see clearly but he began hearing voices of elderly women in his mind… its seems they were shouting at his past self.

" _We're kicking you out of here until you can prove yourself to us that you're not a completely useless God!"_

" _The Hell? What did I do to deserve this!?"_

" _Let's see… You destroyed the food crops, crapped in one of the sacred temples, and You MADE YOUR SISTER CRY! Now, she's hiding in some cave which resulted in plunging the whole world into darkness and letting the demons of the night run around freely for heaven's sake!_

The vision in the Ninja frog's mind ended abruptly, he opened his small beady eyes and began pondering what all that could mean… The Japanese God remained quiet for him to speak… Jiraiya responded to his earlier question…

"Just some old hags yelling at me because I did some stuff I don't remember doing, but I've learned that I have a sister along with a wife…it really doesn't give me anything about my past though…" Jiraiya told his friend, feeling slightly unfulfilled but also began hoping that his sister and wife weren't the same person because he didn't want to be like his pal with the weird little sister-wife complex…

"Nothing from what I saw in the vision makes any sense to me yet…" The Ninja Frog uttered to Izanagi in visible disappointment of it all…

"But we're making good progress! Maybe by the time our users become best friends, we'll have all the answers!" The Japanese God remained pretty optimistic about and showed his fist of determination to his frog pal… Jiraiya grateful for having a friend like him to help out in his personal quest… they soon called it a day as their users' stomachs started to bulge from all the steak they were eating…

* * *

[Shopping District North, Evening]

The sun was soon starting to set for the day, Yosuke and Jiraiya headed back home after saying their goodbyes. The protagonist and his Persona started to feel the chilly night air coming in and so they decided to call it a day too… After taking just a few steps on the way out of the district, they spotted Chie and Tomoe coming out of the Aiya Chinese restaurant… Chie looked at her surroundings and spotted a familiar-looking tall grey-haired boy, their gazes met each other. The spunky girl decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, Yu-kun! What're you doing out? Me? I went to Aiya because I got a little hungry. Oh yeah, if you have time, wanna talk for a bit?" Chie formed a smile on her face, Yu came over to her with a smile of his own…

"Sure, I would be glad to…" Yu told the girl. Izanagi and Tomoe waved casually to each other since they couldn't act like total lovers in front of their respective users yet. Chie nervously itched the side of her head as she struggled to think of something to talk about with Yu Narukami but it was kinda hard since she only met him a week ago, Yu patiently waited for her to say something, still keeping his smile in order to not pressure her out too much…meanwhile, Izanagi and Tomoe decided to sneak away from the two friends so they could talk… but really it was an excuse to spend time alone with each other.

"Um h-hey, I'm sorry for being such a nervous wreck around you earlier... It's just that I never really been alone with a guy other than Yosuke…" Chie nervously explained to him as she rubbed the back of her head and laughed awkwardly as Yu looked at her slightly surprised but what she said…no really! He was actually surprised by this! He then playfully waved off her apology as she didn't need to explain… Yu understood that he came off a little strong to her, so he decided to take things slow for now…

"Don't feel sorry about that Chie… If you ask me, I honestly think it was pretty adorable…" Yu chuckled a little in good fun as the spunky girl's face began to glow red… she decided to change the topic before possibly anybody from their school could see them like this…

"I-I bet you don't know much about this town seeing as how you just transferred and all. Well, there's really not much to know. The only thing I can think of is, uhrm, how much nature we have here...? But the people are really nice! Like, if you lose your wallet, it'll definitely come back to you! And if you're ever in a fix, you can always count on me…" Chie pointed to herself with confidence, complete with an enthusiastic grin… as he looked at her unknowingly awkward display, Yu began to remember something he mentioned to her a while back…

"Thanks, do you still want to hang with me and Yosuke later in the month? We still haven't really decided of where to eat yet… do you know which one of these places here give the best special on a rainy day?" Yu asked his short brown haired classmate, wanting to give her the choice of where to eat since She's the huge meat lover of the group… he also eager to test his abilities against her.

"Sure, I still haven't changed my mind! Hmm, I recommend Aiya and Souzai Daigaku… Aiya's steak bowls are delicious and Souzai Daigaku's steak skewers are great too! Honestly, I'd recommend steak no matter where in Japan I was…" Chie continued to talk about steak passionately as their Personas were sitting on top of the Aiya Restaurant as the clouds began to separate and reveal the bright shining moon… Tomoe and Izanagi stared in awe of its magnificence…

"The moon is beautiful, Isn't it?" Izanagi gazed at the woman warrior with admiring eyes and laid his hand gently onto hers…

"Indeed…" A red-faced Tomoe returned his gaze and decided to lay her head slightly onto his shoulder in comfort as they enjoyed the peace and tranquility together for the night…

"Most restaurants here close real early, but Aiya stays open late. I keep getting lured in by all the delicious smells from inside. Whoa, how long have we been talking? I got so caught up in the conversation...Oh yeah, I want you to have this! That's been my number one recommendation lately! You should try it. Well, I'm gonna get going…" Chie then cheerfully handed the grey-haired protagonist some Kampo Chocolate… he looked at the chocolate bar in his hand and wondered what exactly is Kampo anyway, but decided to keep it since it was from Chie after all… but then again since it was Chie, the chocolate would probably taste weird too. The spunky girl in green began looking around for her Persona but couldn't seem to find her anywhere around them…

Meanwhile from the opposite side of the road near the Chinese restaurant and in a very bushy covered area, a grey-haired girl with crimson eyes rose above the bushes and held military-issued binoculars to her face, she quietly spied on the pair of Personas sitting on top of Aiya as they were enjoying the moonlight together… she soon shifted her gaze to the pair of persona users looking very confused as to where their other selves had gone to… suddenly an angry tsundere's voice rang out from below her…

"Did you really have to call me for this? …and by the way, why am I the one that has to hold you up!?" Marie grimaced as she struggled to keep her legs from falling to the ground, holding Yumiko on top of her shoulders to help the first year girl get a clear view… She pulled herself away from her binoculars and spoke…

"If we're to crush the competition for Narukami-senpai's heart, we have to get the advantage over the other girls, Mariko!" Yumiko proudly declared to Marie with unwavering ambition… She returned her eyes to the binoculars…

"And why do you keep saying my name like that!? It's MARIE!" The hipster tsundere hissed in annoyance at the strange and mysterious girl on top of her shoulders…

"Hmm? What's that?" Chie soon began overhearing some strange noises in the bushes and decided to look closely to where exactly the sound was coming from…oh CRAP!

"W-We've been spotted! H-Hide quickly before they-Wait! WHAA!" The young grey-haired goddess was cut off as Marie's legs suddenly gave out in exhaustion from holding her up for so long, Yumiko fell onto her raven haired **counterpart** , knocking both of them unconscious in comedic fashion…

"G-Get off of me…" A partially woozy Marie told the KO'd Yumiko in a strained voice as the girl laid on top of her with "X"s over her eyes…

"Oh Well, I guess it's just my imagination…" Chie thought to herself considerably, the grey-haired protagonist soon offered to walk the spunky girl home during the night since their two personas decided to bail on them… Izanagi and Tomoe soon began returning home after a spending while under the moon…

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait, I've been writing the outline for the fan fiction's story. There's actually two plots that are ongoing, one for the Team's Personas and another for the mystery behind Yu's second journey... and they both come together in the climax.


	23. Chapter 23

The Big Ol' Conspiracy - Chapter 23

{April 21, 2011} {Cloudy}

[School Gymnasium, After School]

Yu and his Persona Izanagi decided to spend some time with the two sports club friends for today…

From the bleachers inside the gymnasium, The Japanese God of Creation carefully observed his grey-haired user and his normal-looking teammates go up and down the court... over and over again for a good while, still wondering how this "Basketball" game is played even after all this time…

Yasogami High's tiny but solid basketball team is well on the way to perfecting their Chaos Dunks!

After practice was done, Yu and his club friend Kou Ichijo stood in the middle of court exactly as they did in the previous cycle, the astral projection of Izanagi went behind his user as school activities were ending pretty soon.

The grey-haired protagonist was amazed of how seamless it was to be at the right place at the right time… he started wondering if it was even possible to change the flow of events… Kou suddenly snapped the Fool from his existential thoughts…

"Hey Yu, who was that girl you were walking with the other day? I'm hearin' a lot juicy rumors around school about you guys…" The sly-faced Kou started playfully nudging his new friend's arm… Yu decided to come clean about the whole thing since he didn't want to add more fuel to the school's go.

"Oh, her name's Yumiko Shirasagi, she started attending Yasogami a while ago so I showed her around school as a favor… and whatever you heard, she's not my girlfriend…" Yu calmly asserted his secret devotion to the church of Chie Satonaka. Behind him, Izanagi had folded his arms in a very serious manner, nodding passionately in approval of his user's tastes for tomboys…

"Really? Oh and I just thought she was your adorable little sister or something, I mean you two do look kinda alike…" Kou frankly admitted to his newbie friend with an amused chuckle, despite sounding like he was implying an intimate relationship between the two grey-haired students earlier. As he said that, the grey-haired protagonist began pondering about how him and Yumiko did in fact resembled each other… the only real difference between them was the color of their eyes and that she was more obviously a "girl" …Yumiko's innocent smiling face was in his thought bubble but he was still remained skeptical about her…could she have some ulterior motive? He can only guess at the moment.

"Man, I'm hungry… Hey Yu, let's get something later, Aiya or Junes? You decide…" Kou asked his tall buddy as he was coming out from his thoughts…

"Aiya…" Yu gave his personal answer with very intense passion in his eyes… Izanagi thought that his "usually calm user" was way too eager to test his skills against the lovely carnivore in the green sweater.

"Ooh, you really know what's up! Their Hui Gou Rou is awesome!" Kou spoke with cheerful enthusiasm. Yu noticed there was a gleam in Kou's eyes. Suddenly, a familiar voice called to them from a distance…

"Hey, Kou, Hurry up!" Daisuke Nagase from the school's soccer team came walking up to his longtime friend as his own club practice was over…

"The soccer team's done already? You guys are fast, man. Don't you have cleaning up to do?" Kou observed his friend's appearance with slight astonishment in his voice.

"Yeah, but I don't have to do that stuff." Daisuke stated to the two teammates with a pretty smug face, he began remembering something on the spot.

"Oh yeah, this girl in my class was looking for you. She made something for you in home ec. She said, "Kou-chan loves sweets," or something like that…" Daisuke told the small blue-haired basketball fiend with a teasing tone…

"Well, I do like me some sweets… I don't mind that but I wish she'd stop calling me "Kou-chan." I swear, the more girls I tell not to call me that, the more they seem to enjoy doing it. I hate my name. "Kou." It's such a crappy name..." Kou began having an exasperated face as he spoke to his male friends. The grey-haired protagonist was quite surprised of how fast a social link friend's mood can change so quickly… it's weird seeing this all again.

"Well? What are you gonna do?" Daisuke questioned him.

"…I guess I'll go pick 'em up. You like sweets, Yu? Want me to get you some, too?" Kou was about to make his way out of the gymnasium as he thought courteously of the new guy on the team. Izanagi began eyeing his user to take the offer as The Japanese God wanted to eat some of those tasty sweets.

"Sure…" Yu gladly accepted Kou's offer as his Persona began comically gearing in excitement for sweets behind him.

"If I mention you, I bet she'd give me tons! Alright, leave it to me. I'll get us so much candy, we'll be too fat to practice!" Kou stated rather enthusiastically as he headed out… After overcoming the inevitable belly aches from all the sweets and Aiya Chinese delivery, Yu and Izanagi decided spend the rest of the day at home…

* * *

[Shopping District North, Evening]

At around dusk, the massive grey clouds that drifted above the country town of Inaba quickly dispersed to reveal the very bright orange sunset settling down on the horizon…

The shopping district on both sides was mostly devoid of people at this time. Because of this, no one was around to witness the scene of a defenseless school girl from Yasogami being harassed by a yellowed-eyed delinquent dressed improperly in a uniform from a rival school… the situation appeared to be dire… but not really…

The innocent girl from Yasogami was being restrained by the thuggish brute against the garage door of the recently closed barbershop, just merely a short distance away from the Aiya Chinese restaurant…

As the thug leered his face closer to the weak-looking damsel, she made an attempt to cry for help…with great amounts of ham in her voice.

"Oh NO! This depraved RUFFIAN is trying to have his way with me without proper consent! …Will anyone very BRAVE and STRONG come and rescue ME from this very unpleasant situation! Any time now would be better!" The school girl exclaimed with an obvious acting voice as she dramatically laid an arm over her forehead to come off as a damsel in distress even more… the ruffian in question began speaking to her with equal bad acting

"I am indeed a depraved RUFFIAN who is harassing YOU and I do not care much for your consent! Silence wench, as I shall now in engage my unearthly human desires!" The yellow-eyed brute declared pompously, proceeding to look at the girl's face with a goofy-looking grin, expecting her to act terrified of his words… but he was ultimately met with a pretty lukewarm expression from the Yasogami school girl…

"Can't you even try to sound like a normal person at least once…? You could also at least try to sound more genuine too…" The annoyed school girl spoke in a pretty deadpan tone of voice as she insulted the thug's acting skills…In reaction to that, the yellow-eyed thug sneered at the girl's rudeness and grabbed her uniform collar roughly, lifting her off the ground in anger for all of the nonsense he has to put up with…

"Grr…Why did you call me for this foolishness in the first place!? I am the vile darkness inside all human hearts, not an aspiring actor! And did you honestly think that this little street performance we're putting on for absolutely no one would work!? Not even humans could be that stupid-" As the thug spoke loudly and aggressively to the small school girl, he noticed a sudden flash of bright green in the corner of his eye, he then turned to see what it was… strangely, he started feeling a great amount of pain in the stomach, he looked down to see what appears to be a girl's foot lodged in there… after realizing what happened in mere seconds, the delayed impact from an extremely powerful kick had him swiftly flying into the air and out of the shopping district forming into a nice twinkle in the sky…

After hastily sending that creepy-looking guy to the moon with her deadly legs, Chie came to the school girl's side to comfort her from that terrible experience…

"Hey! Are you okay!? Did that creep hurt or touch you anywhere?" Chie voiced worry for the innocent-looking school girl as she laid a gentle hand on her shoulder… The school girl was facing down at the ground as Chie spoke, she then lifted her head to see who her savior was in full view…

As Chie began to see the girl's face, she was really weirded out by how this stranger kinda uncannily resembled her dude friend Yu Narukami but with crimson-colored eyes. Chie decided to put that thought in the back of her mind for the situation at hand…

"N-No, thank you for saving me, you're really courageous…uh…" The Girl with crimson eyes appeared to be a very shy and timid speaker. Chie grew a little more sympathetic as the girl's demeanor reminded her of Yukiko in her younger days…

"My name is Chie Satonaka… By the way, if you ever see that guy again, just tell me and I'll make sure to leave my shoeprints all over his body!" Chie proclaimed to the shorter girl readily with her feet... the spunky girl's odd display of enthusiasm for such a thing caused the school girl to giggle in amusement…

"HeHe… I'll be counting on you then… Oh! I-I almost forgot to give you my name… Yumiko Shirasagi, th-thank you again really…" Yumiko revealed her identity and gave gratitude to the spunky girl in green.

"No problem! Say, are you a new student to Yasogami High?" Chie formed a sincere smile on her face and then noticed the first year student emblem on Yumiko's school uniform.

"Oh, Y-Yes I've recently started school there for the first time… it's not very easy since I don't really know anyone and I-I'm just awful with meeting new people…" The introverted Yumiko revealed a little part of herself to Chie, looking rather embarrassed by the fact.

"Aw, hey don't worry about that! If you ever need anyone to hang out with after school, just come with me and my friends, we can have fun together at Junes sometime if you like…" Chie cheerfully reassured Yumiko from any social anxiety she had about new school life… Yumiko nervously nodded to the spunky girl's offer…

"Th-Thank you so much… Satonaka-senpai…" A visibly-relieved Yumiko had a very loveable smile on her face as someone became a friend to her…

Chie smiled back at her eagerly as well…but realized that it was getting completely dark out as the sun began to disappear for the night…

"Hey, Yumiko-chan… do you want to walk home together?" Chie showed a bit of concern in her face for her young kohai given the recent incident that happened…

"I-I'll be okay senpai, my home isn't very far from here…" Yumiko had eased her senpai's worry…but only after a while of trying to convince the persistent Kung-Fu girl that she would be absolutely fine on the way home…

The two girls then soon waved goodbye to each other… though Chie was still pretty reluctant to leave someone who was just like Yukiko in her younger days to be alone at night…

As the grey-haired Goddess in disguise calmly walked through an empty neighborhood on the way to Adachi's residence, a shadowy cesspool began to form behind her as she walked along…

Noticing this oddity, Yumiko stopped herself from walking and then fashioned a smug grin on her face as she realized Nyarthalotep was just coming back from being blasted off into the sky…

Nyarathalotep still in his school delinquent disguise crawled out of the black portal and carefully stood up from the ground, he held his stomach in great pain from Chie's Galactic Punt…

"H-How can a mere human possess such immense power!? That young girl was able to hurt me without using a single persona…" The Crawling Chaos spoke in a strained voice to the young Goddess as she turned to face him…

"Well, that's what you get for leaving me alone with the creepy TV killer!" Yumiko irritably expressed to him with an annoyed look…

"Was this really your intention with that dumb performance or was there more to it than that!?" Nyarthalotep shouted at her with an accusing finger while still holding himself in pain…

"To be honest, I expected the energetic Kung-Fu girl to merely stand up for little ol' me and tell you off just like I watched her do before with some bullies in the previous cycle… but it seems she decided to take a more hands on approach… hehe." Yumiko admitted to him with a delighted smile, finding some satisfaction in seeing that a "mere human" could wreck Nyarthalotep's bloated ego so hard to the core…

"If you just wanted to meet this girl, why the hell did you had me put on a dumb little show when you could have simply join her at that one eatery she frequents!?" Nyarthalotep pointed the rather bizarre way of thinking that the Goddess does in her plans…

"I simply wanted to recreate the moment when Narukami fell in love with that girl… to see what was so special about her… I still can't say I understand why he chose her though…" Yumiko spoke in a somberly honest tone about her former love to the Crawling Chaos who simply rolled his eyes in uncaring manner since he's essentially the source of all evil, does she actually expect him to care about that kind of stuff? The grey-haired Goddess began to look pretty gloomy as she thought more about the situation…

"If that was all, I'm super overjoyed that I didn't waste my time in giving any true effort to acting like a complete loon with you…" He spoke mockingly to the now visibly-upset Yumiko as she continued to ponder deeply about Yu, Chie, and their personas Izanagi and "what's her face but also seems kinda familiar in a weird way" …Tomoe, that's it.

…There was a short but really awkward silence between the two.

"Speaking of the boy, has that lily-livered Philemon had any sort of contact with him yet?" Nyathalotep questioned the grey-haired Goddess if all was according to keikaku or something…

"I assume so if he's really on abroad with his role in Narukami's second journey. By the way, has The Reaper been doing his own part in the grand scheme of things?" Yumiko perked up a bit and asked her own question to him in curiosity…

"He's been roaming all over the Midnight Channel but he hasn't really found anything that would prove troublesome for the boy… or for our plan. The Reaper has also been playing his role as a fearsome and terrifying challenger to those young and foolish Persona users…" Nyathalotep stated clearly as he began to fully recover from his injury, she began thinking about his words…

"Maybe the strange source of power I sensed somewhere inside the TV World was probably just a bad feeling I had… Guess it's now time for us to wait and see if Narukami's resolve could get him onto the true path…to me." Yumiko spoke softly to the disguised Eldritch God of a thousand faces… she gazed on at the starry night sky above her…

* * *

Author's Notes: I guess Yu Narukami was right about the conspiracy part, But I wonder who exactly is the "Composer" of this whole thing? It's certainly still a mystery.

\- At the end there, Yumiko was referring to the unnamed demon from the 21st chapter.

\- I was wondering if I should give a complete list of culprits for all of you to guess, is that a fun idea? Give a review saying Yes or No.


	24. Chapter 24

Magician Rank 3 - Chapter 24

{April 22, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Samagawa Floodplains, Early Morning]

Yu was calmly walking down the path near the riverbed which was surrounded by a lot of wet grass, Izanagi was peacefully resting inside the head of his user as they headed to Yasogami for the school day…Suddenly out of nowhere, an irritated-looking boy in his school uniform and on the verge of puberty came running past our grey-haired protagonist as if he was trying to get away from someone who was very clingy…suddenly an innocent-looking school girl caught up to the boy…

"Hey, don't rush. If we go together-" The girl's tone sounded pretty reasonable to Yu and Izanagi but the boy would have none of it…for some strange reason.

"Just leave me alone!" The miffed boy exclaimed to the girl rudely as he took off again down the path… the school girl soon gave chase once more…maybe she just wanted to walk with him? I dunno, Yu and Izanagi found this to be an awkward and random spectacle.

"Well, that was really awkward and random…don't thou think?" The Japanese God asked his user for his take of what the fuck just happened… he was pretty confused to say the least…

"Yeah, I know right? Geez…" Yu uttered to Izanagi in his mind, somewhat dumbfounded of what he had witnessed… suddenly once again, Yosuke with his signature pair of orange headphones around his neck came jogging up to Yu for a chat on the way to school.

"Morning, Yu. What was that about? Is that kid already at that rebellious age? Well, these murders must have parents around here pretty worried…" Yosuke remarked rather sure of that bizarre reasoning, Yu looked at him with confusion in his eyes.

"Wait...? How does that have any connection of what I just saw-*sighs*…never mind, go on…" Yu jadedly expressed with a tired sigh, this world is getting weird…

"Oh...about the culprit. I was thinking about it some, and I don't understand him at all...It seems like a lot of effort to dump someone into a TV. How is he doing it? The more I think about it, the more confused I get..." Yosuke expressed his irritation of being unable to figure the murders out, thankfully his partner always appeared to have an answer ready…

"Let's just wait for Yukiko to recover…We'll figure it out eventually…" Yu calmly remarked to the Junes boy as they continued on the path to Yasogami.

"You're right. Let's come back to this after we've heard Yukiko's side of things…and about that special power of yours too…" Yosuke looked at his partner expectantly, he was pretty curious about some aspects that Yu was purposely keeping from him.

"Oh yeah, I got a long crazy story to tell all of you…I hope you'll believe me…" Yu stated as they reached the neighborhood close to their school.

* * *

[Okina city, After School]

Right after classes, Yosuke decided to bring his buddy Yu all the way to Inaba's closest neighboring city or at least the terminal station that leads to it… Aligning on both sides of the neat-looking station were many small shops that sold a variety of books and clothes, there was also a trendy café and an awesome movie theater which was always frequented by students of Yasogami High. The only few times where Yu and his persona Izanagi would have spent time here was with people they were hanging out with in the past cycle…though that may change with time…

"Mmmm… it's been a while since I breathed this kinda air! Y'know, I'm just a poor little city boy drawn to that urban scent…Wait a minute...Am I starting to sound like Teddie?" Yosuke wondered next to his pal as they stood together in the middle of everything. Yu began to gaze at the top of the Junes boy's head.

"Hmm, you're looking hairier…" Yu began teasing him with some lighthearted jokes. Izanagi and Jiraiya were nowhere to be found.

"Now that you mention it, the foam in my facial soap this morning had...H-Hey, you're making me scare myself!" Yosuke was on the verge of a freak out, his expression soon changed to a bright smile as he was having a good time…he spoke once again.

"Well, that aside, what should we-Oh, a text message…" Yosuke's face lit up as his pocket began to vibrate, he dug in and pulled out his phone to see who it was…

"More spam...Looks like someone got my address…I get a lot of spam." Yosuke appeared to be a little embarrassed by this…

"You don't block them?" Yu suggested in common sense since he was genuinely trying to be more helpful to everyone he bonded with this time around, the Junes boy shrugged his shoulders to his response.

"Even when I do, they change domains, so there's no point. And I don't wanna change my address..." Yosuke sighed as if nothing could be done about that... Yu started wondering if it was actually a good idea to give his phone number to Yosuke, since he could probably end up getting spam too… but he's a good friend so it's fine…for the most part.

"I haven't changed addresses since before we moved to Inaba…I mean, I might get a text from someone...It's hard to call, y'know? If I called people just to tell them my number changed, they'd get annoyed. And some of them never planned to text me anyway…Oh but hey, don't look at me like I don't have any friends!" Yosuke put on a cheerful-looking smile and began to wave his hands at his partner to spare any pity from him…

"Though to tell you the truth, I don't remember what we all used to talk about. Can't really call 'em friends. Inaba suits me just fine. Plus…I got something I need to do there." Yosuke began to gaze into Yu's grey-colored eyes and smiled once again.

"I'm counting on ya, partner!" Yosuke expressed to him enthusiastically with Yu nodding eagerly back at him with an equal smile of his own. The Junes boy noticed it was almost evening time…

"Well, with that in mind, should we head back? It'd suck if something happened back there while we were over here! Alright, let's head home! Wait-let's get everyone a souvenir, then head home!" Yosuke quickly headed into one of the small shops for some thoughtful gift shopping while Yu stood alone wondering where the heck their Personas were…

"Where did our Personas go? …I really hope they're aren't causing any trouble…well its mostly Jiraiya I'm worried about…" Yu thought as he began looking to his surroundings… from atop of the huge movie theater, Izanagi and Jiraiya were sitting on ledge, dangling their legs as they talked.

"Well, Unlike Yosuke, I never grew in a city like this… and even if I did, I couldn't…that's just not my style…" Jiraiya stated as he laid himself casually on the roof… Izanagi turned himself to see his frog buddy's surprisingly relaxed face…

"I can agree…human cities are too noisy for me, I remember when the world was simple and quiet…" Izanagi stated nostalgically of how the world was like back then… demons and humans coexisted peacefully until most humans grew out of truly believing such outlandish myths and legends…the demons had to fade back into their first home which was "the Sea of Souls" …where they are to remain within the hearts of humans until they are called upon as Personas…this reminiscing of the olden days had the Japanese God thinking about something important…

"Aren't we going to try to get your memories back? Your wife is searching for you after all…" Izanagi steadily reminded Ninja frog of his desperate desire to find his real self…

"Well even if I do get my memories back, it's not like I could leave Yosuke even if I wanted too… let's just forget about…" Jiraiya stated in a gloomier mood than before… it seems he's losing hope…

"I know that's not what you want, if you'd just tell Yosuke-san about how you feel, maybe he can help us with this too along with Yu, I'm sure they would be glad to… Yosuke-san is your other self after all." Izanagi's tone was quite caring for his friend, Jiraiya pondered a little about that option…

"I don't know… what if Yosuke can't because of his own problems? I wouldn't want to stand in his way…" Jiraiya tried to excuse himself from ever truly knowing if Yosuke would help him…

"You don't know that for certain… just tell him, and I'm sure he'll make time for you, he cares for you…remember that." Izanagi's words had struck Jiraiya's soul, making him feel more confident about finding his true self…

"Come on, let's go… they're waiting for us now…" Izanagi spoke lastly, the Personas soon got down from the movie theater roof to regroup with their users in the plaza… it was time to call it a day.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait, I had some college work that needed attention, and my grandparents came to visit so I bonded with them for a while. Next few chapters will contain the beginning parts of the Chariot and Aeon links. and also the rainy day meat bowl challenge where Yu and Chie finally get to throw down while Yosuke and the newbie freshman watch in both amazement and disgust.


	25. Chapter 25

Fool/Hunger – Chapter 25 (plus that abandoned Halloween omake special)

{April 23, 2011} {Sunny/Cloudy}

[The floodplains, Afterschool]

Today, Izanagi spends time near Samegawa as his grey-haired user has gotten a nice paying job as an assistant caretaker for children at an outdoor daycare…

Yu was wearing his caretaker's apron, surrounded by many playful and sticky children at the daycare as Izanagi watched his user carefully from atop of the wooden shelter at the daycare.

By the look of the children's impressionable gleaming eyes upon the tall high school boy, it seems that they are extremely interested in their new babysitter... an amused Izanagi uttered something to himself quietly about his user…

"Seeing him with all of those small children again really reminds me of myself when I was a young father…I wonder how all of my children are doing now…" Izanagi began to warmly reminisce about his 800 kids, they all were now living their own lives as full-fledged Personas in the Sea of Souls…one boy from the group of children spoke up to the young caretaker.

"Mister Yu, do you have a girlfriend?" The Boy was oddly curious of that subject despite his age…

"Oh, um…" The grey-haired protagonist became somewhat hesitant to answer the boy honestly since him and Chie never technically broke up and they were together but now they're not…it was all too complicated for him to wrap his head around… a young considerate girl in the group saw Yu's hesitance and scolded the boy for the rather personal question.

"Don't ask him that, you creep!" The girl angrily told the boy, suddenly another boy in the group chimed in at the moment since he wanted to play with their new caretaker already…

"Let's play tag, Mister! You're it!" The other Boy exclaimed excitedly as all the children that were surrounding Yu began to run around the park in multiple directions away from their new caretaker…

The grey-haired protagonist sighed tiredly and commenced his chase after all of the children so they won't get lost or something…though he was enjoying himself a little bit, Izanagi observed him closely with deep thought…the Japanese God then chuckled wholeheartedly to himself as he continued to watch Yu play with the children, a smile was on his user's face…

After re-meeting with Eri Minami, the adoptive mother of the Temperance Arcana, Yu decided to meet up with Izanagi again as it was soon time to head back home for the evening…the two of them talked under the wooden shelter as other caretakers were mindlessly packing up to go…

"…Watching thou joyfully play with these kids again makes me think that thou will make a great parent one day…hehe." Izanagi teasingly remarked to his user with cheerful expression…he began playfully nudging him in the arm…Yu began thinking of what his kids would look like…and who the mother might be…

"Y-You think so huh? I don't know if I should be really thinking about that stuff at my age…" Yu remarked sheepishly to his black-coated persona as he undid his caretaker's apron…the grey-haired protagonist began remembering about something important he was told earlier…

"Oh yeah, what did you want to talk about Izanagi?" Yu inquired with curiosity of what it could be…

"I need thy help with Jiraiya…it seems that he has grown restless about himself…" Izanagi told his user in response…

"What do you mean by that?" Yu raised his brow in slight confusion as he completed folding his apron, Izanagi then elaborated more on it…

"He's lost sense of who he truly is…basically he's having a crisis of identity…" The Japanese God explained.

"Really? I thought that ninja frog man was super carefree about everything…when did this start happening?" Yu wondered to his persona.

"During Yukiko-san's dungeon, He discovered bits of his past he cannot recollect in his mind…" Izanagi mentioned this piece to his user.

"Isn't it strange for a persona to have an identity crisis though? …But then again he transfigured into a different God…Susanoo, was it?" Yu was still slightly dumbfounded at the idea…could a Persona really be unsure of himself? Who really knows…

"Yes, I believe that if thou can deepen thy friendship Yosuke-san once again, it would give Jiraiya more to remember…will you help him too?" Izanagi gazed at his user with pleading eyes, Yu smiled as he thought it was kinda adorable…

"Of course, I'd never tell him this but I consider Jiraiya my friend as much as I do Yosuke… A Persona with an identity crisis, huh? What about you? Have you ever started feeling this way…?" Yu looked up to Izanagi with wonder in his eyes… the Japanese God calmly waved off in response…

"Not at all, my memory may be foggy but that's because I'm really old, I'd always remember who I am…I'm thou and thou art I!" Izanagi reassured the Wild Card user with his hilarious dramatic tone…

"Now that I think about, I wonder how you look like without the mask…" Yu began thinking about it but couldn't really picture a face…

"Hmm…I'll show thou one of these days…it'll be a great surprise!" Izanagi gleefully expressed to the grey-haired boy, the two soon made their way back home…walking into that cliché sunset…

* * *

[Adachi's apartment, Evening]

Magatsu-Izanagi was cheerfully cooking his signature cabbage stew in his user's small and somewhat shabby kitchen…

The God of Calamity started sautéing the cabbage with ease…adding some of the few onions he could scavenge within Adachi's barren kitchen along with celery and garlic. Suddenly, as he began finishing up with stirring the cabbage…there were a couple of knocks at the front door of the apartment…

Magatsu-Izanagi heard the knocks clearly, he then delicately used the metallic pan cover to keep the cabbage warm as Yumiko had seemingly arrived home from school…

The corrupted God opened the door slightly to a surprising sight…

"I'm Home!" Yumiko cheerfully announced as she gazed up at the tall Persona while holding two large plastic bags in both hands…it seems that the young girl went to do some food shopping…Magatsu-Izanagi became pretty curious as to how she bought a lot of groceries…

"Uh…Thank you, Yumiko…How in the world did you come up with the money for something other than simple cabbage?" Magatsu-Izanagi grew suspicious of her means as the girl made her way inside…did she tap into Adachi's life savings? How could she have found that large yet practical coin jar hidden deep inside their bedroom closet without him noticing? Or did she look into the money stash within the hole in the wall hidden by Adachi's old MUSES poster in his room? Magatsu waited for her honest response…

"Oh, I have my own job! I thought if I was going live here I might as well help you out with making dinner…" The grey-haired girl answered the God of Calamity with a cute-looking smile…

"You have a Job? …Where do you work?" Magatsu-Izanagi followed up his question since he wanted to know more… He eyed her face deeply though he didn't want to pry, it just seems odd…a bead of sweat ran down Yumiko's forehead…

"OH! Uh…um… Th-The bookstore!" Yumiko quickly and somewhat nervously answered Magatsu-Izanagi by using the closest place she could think of near her actual work… Magatsu's probing curiosity began to waver…

"I guess that checks out, do you mean that one bookstore in shopping district…?" Magatsu-Izanagi casually asked the grey-haired girl as he returned his attention to the cabbage stew… Yumiko sighed slightly in relief…he was going in too deep.

"Yes of course, I also went down to old Lady Shiroku's store on my way back home…" Yumiko answered calmly, she sat the grocery bags on the dining table…

"Really? You know that old lady too, huh? She's very nice…" Magatsu-Izanagi soon finished the cabbage stew… He then noticed Yumiko's eyes wondering to him as if she was in need of something…

"Do you need something, Yumiko-san?" The God Calamity eyed over to the girl as he tended to the stew on the stove.

"W-Well, with all these ingredients I got for us…I was thinking maybe we could start my cooking training today…?" Yumiko grew kinda nervous about trying not suck like all the other girls…

"Oh that's right… you're trying to impress someone aren't you? I almost forgot…" Magatsu-Izanagi thought back to a couple nights ago… it seems that this whole thing is up to simple chance though…

"Well, I don't know how to make anything beyond just using cabbage… I cannot guarantee that special someone of yours will like it… I don't think I could be much help…" Magatsu told her simply as began to prepare dinner.

"I recently joined the Home EC class at my school, you don't have to teach me, just help me refine the things I learn…" Yumiko suggested this plan to the reverse Persona so she could all the support she needed.

"Hmm… I guess expanding my own skills wouldn't be so bad…" Magatsu-Izanagi began reconsidering thoughtfully… though he noticed a sudden change in the girl's mood, it was sullen almost…did something happened recently?

"…But even with all the effort I put into this, maybe it won't be enough in the end…" Yumiko is still in visible doubt that she could win her senpai's heart…Magatsu-Izanagi felt sympathy for her so he decided to do the best he could to lighten her spirits… he suddenly took a knee in front of the girl and carefully took both her hands with his own… this caught her by surprise…she became mixed up in her feelings…the God of Calamity began to speak to her…

"Well of course not! Remember that this is only the beginning, a man's heart can be reached through his stomach but winning his heart is a whole different beast…you can't just give up right now! You can do this as long as you believe in yourself like I do!" Magatsu declared with a cheerful tone in his deep voice. Visibly touched, Yumiko gazed at him for a while in stunned silence… he held her hands very delicately and his words were genuine enough to ease her doubt… Yumiko's crimson eyes expressed upmost gratitude to him for helping out… Magatsu-Izanagi noticed the color of her face had changed to a slight red for some reason…

"Your face is red, are you feeling well?" The God of Calamity was somewhat dumbfounded as to why…he continued to hold her hands with his…

"N-No…" Yumiko soon hid her eyes from him in embarrassment…

* * *

Omake #5 - Halloween at the Amagi's!

On a dark and stormy night at the Amagi family Home… and in the nice-looking living room of rich country people…

(Sighs) "I never question Yukiko-sama's word but this is too much for me to bare… honestly why do I have to babysit all of you!" A miffed Amaterasu shouted in frustration…the lively noise her Persona friends made drowned out her complaining. The Persona bunch were chatting loudly with each other and some of them even horsed around like little children waiting for their parents to come back for them…Suzuka Gongen came to her friend's side to comfort her about the situation of being stuck here while their users have a Halloween party without them…

"Hey Cheer up! Just because we have to stay here while our users celebrate somewhere else doesn't mean we can't have some adult fun!" Suzuka expressed optimistically in effort to lighten the Sun Goddess's mood.

"Adult Fun? Well Suzuka, you do have a point since our users are still underage to do anything excitedly daring… but I'm more stressed about you guys wrecking up Yukiko-sama's home!" Amaterasu worried about her user's wellbeing most of all…

"Well I tried…" A worn-out Suzuka Gongen patted her friend's shoulder to calm her down from getting all uppity about this. Izanagi-No-Okami overheard his daughter's distress and quickly came to her with the concern of a caring parent.

"Don't be so stressed my precious daughter of light… What can I do to help you feel better?" The Great God spoke in a very sincere tone to his child.

"Dad, Get Susanoo's feet off the table!" Amaterasu pointed over to her younger brother on the living room couch with his feet causally up…

"Hey, my boots are super clean!" A disgruntled Susanoo removed his feet as he was called upon by his slightly older sister…

A sneaky Kanzeon went behind Izanagi-No-Okami for a surprise hug, which startle the Great God of Creation as it was very unexpected. Suzuka who stood by his side and was needless to say, not amused by this heinous display of affection, she slightly trembled in anger and annoyance of this woman's tenacity to flirt with her boyfriend.

"I agree with Suzuka about having a little fun party ourselves… want to spend some time with me, Senpai?" Kanzeon flirted with Izanagi-no-Okami regardless of the fact he was taken already…

"Well…I-I um..." Izanagi-No-Okami always was considerate of others for everything they did, he was hesitant to hurt the feelings of his female companions even if he loved someone else…

"Yeah, what's it gonna be? My DEAR Izanagi~" Suzuka turned her head, putting on a deceivingly cheerful expression urging him to choose…wisely.

Izanagi-No-Okami laughed awkwardly in response to her question as he felt the piercing stare of his beloved while the team's enemy scanner wrapped her arms affectionately around his neck for that "clingy" Oni princess to see. They stayed like that for a while… Izanagi began to sweat nervously as his girlfriend began gazing at him with visible impatience.

Amaterasu left the scene in annoyance of her dad's love life. Rokuten-Maou and Yamato-Takeru were sitting on the same couch with Susanoo, they watched closely on how their leader was going to get out of this one…

"Ugh, this makes my body physically ill watching them act like this…" A slightly sickened Yamato-Takeru spoke with an eloquent-sounding voice to his larger companion.

"Izanagi and Suzuka are very happy together but it seems our friend does not accept that fact without challenge… I hope it doesn't come to a physical one for her sake…" Rokuten spoke in response while still watching the three Personas from a distance.

"That's what annoys me the most, why can't that THICK HEAD realize the one who loves him most is right next to him!" A miffed and frustrated Yamato gazed back at his demon lord companion next to him on the couch… his words and behavior confused Rokuten greatly.

"Um… I was talking about Kanzeon, is something else wrong?" Rokuten grew concern about what his pal said.

"NOTHING IS WRONG…nothing at all…" Yamato went suddenly quiet for some reason…he refrained himself from seeing Rokuten's eyes…

"Well, okay then… I wonder where the hell Kamui is, I haven't seen that bear since we got here…" Rokuten looked around for him… Susanoo spoke up about his whereabouts.

"He told me he was heading to the kitchen to get some food…" Susanoo told Rokuten as he put his feet up again, Amaterasu quickly raced to the kitchen as she overheard her brother's words to stop that bear from eating anything she was keeping in the fridge…it was going to be a long night of SPOOKYNESS! Thunder began to sound outside the home…

* * *

[8:00pm] [Rainy]

Amaterasu rushed into the unlit kitchen of the Amagi house, she expected the room to be all messy from the bear's quest for food… instead she found it to be mostly orderly, save for some scatter food on the ground in front of the half-opened fridge…

The light from the refrigerator was shining on Kamui who was in a corner of the room, he was trembling greatly for some strange reason… the Sun Goddess went to check the fridge to see if the Bear God had eaten anything she was keeping for later…thankfully it was still there. She then went over and asked why was he on the ground acting like a scared child.

"What's wrong with you, Kamui? Why are you shaking like that?" Amaterasu found that to be peculiar, the bear Persona responded to her with a scared tone of voice.

"Oh A-Amaterasu! It was horrible… HORRIBLE! …IT T-TOUCHED ME!" Kamui shouted out to her in terror from something… he covered his face with his yellow claws the best he could… the Sun Goddess quickly called for her other friends to help figure out what scared Kamui so bad.

"What happened…Kamui?" Izanagi-No-Okami came in with Suzuka Gongen and Susanoo right behind him. To them, it was a bizarre scene…

The leader of the Personas quickly went over to the Bear God as he was still trembling uncontrollably… Izanagi took a knee in front of his friend who was still hiding his face…

"Oh Sensei! T-Thank goodness you came… I'm so SCARED!" The terrified little divine bear quickly embraced the kneeling God for comfort…

"What the hell happened to you? I never seen you like this…" A cautious Susanoo asked the bear from behind Izanagi, Suzuka and Amaterasu listened closely…

"I-I came into the kitchen to find something tasty to eat… so I opened Miss Amagi's fridge to see if her staff's food was in there but then… something jumped on my face and slithered around me… I couldn't see what it was because it was super quick! I-It went down to the floor and past my leg… now it's GONE AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M SO SCARED, HELP ME SENSEI! PLEASE HELP ME! ACK!" The frighten bear shouted his final words to his friends before passing out from being so terrified…he keeled over…

"…It seems we have ourselves a case of the Halloween spooks…" Izanagi stated to his friends as he laid Kamui on his side and stood up…

"Kamui…" Suzuka spoke his name sadly, gazing down at her unconscious friend…

"You sure a mouse didn't scare just scare him…?" Susanoo was blunt, he eyed Amaterasu since she was first on the scene…

"There's no mice in Yukiko-sama's wonderful home you little snot, I found him like this…" Amaterasu told them honestly.

"We'll need to investigate the scene and see if we can find clues to whatever scared him…" Izanagi told the group his plan of action.

"Investigate…? Can we do that?" An unsure Suzuka inquired since they weren't the investigation team.

"We're the other selves of the Seekers of Truth…might as well try…" An optimistic Izanagi in his glided white clothes asserted to all of them.

"Alright dad, but first I got to clean this mess up…" Amaterasu went out to the closet in the hallway to pick up a broom for the kitchen. Suzuka went over to the kitchen's doorway and flickered the lights on, the room lit up brightly.

Suddenly…there was loud banging in the cabinet above the kitchen sink…this took the Personas by surprise and they became startled by it…BANG! BANG!

"What the hell is that?" Susanoo asked his father who remained silent as he listened to the sounds coming from the cabinet…

BANG! BANG!

"Wh-What's going on in this place!" Suzuka became easily frightened like her Master of scary things…oh boy.

BANG! BANG!

The sounds from the cabinet were unrelenting…It continued to get louder and louder, finally Izanagi decided to try and reach the cabinet to see what was in there… he inched his hand slowly to the handle and quickly opened it wide for all to see…a Jack Frost was stuffed inside…The cute snowman then suddenly fell out, hitting the kitchen sink on the way down with a sickening thud to the floor…he was barely conscious from probably spending a while in there…the others gasped loudly in disbelief and surprise of the little guy being in there for so long… Izanagi quickly picked up and cradled the snowman as the little cute fella strained himself to speak of what had went on in this room…

"H-He…Ho, it got me too… th-this is for you guys…He-Ho…" The Jack Frost weakly raised a piece of white paper he had for Izanagi to see, Susanoo immediately came over to snatch it away and began to read what it said out loud.

 _"FEAR IT'S EVIL TOUCH, HEE-HO!" "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!_

* * *

Author's Notes: I apologize greatly for the wait but school was budging for time because that's important yadda yadda... anyways I'm glad that I released this chapter when I could.

-If you're wondering about why Magatsu-Izanagi is super nice to Yumiko is because she appreciates him in a way Adachi must learn over the course of the story.

-MUSES was an idol group back from Persona 2 dualogy.

-Chie's social link progress is coming for the next chapter

Some of the old notes if you missed them:

Personas/Shadow's confirmed to have emotions and feelings! Take that anyone who says personas "don't have a personality" ...I'm looking over to my editor... :^)

Remember Persona 1 and 2 exists fools! I do plan on returning back to this after I get those dumb responsibilities out of the way. Thank you for 15000 views!

...Makoto is strong best Waifu contender for my P5 run! She and I went to a movie called "Like a Dragon" and Makoto was super into it! Also Chie is revealed to be a kung-fu using police cadet in a news report! Share your waifus/husbandos in reviews cause I'd like to know!

 **Special Japanese mythology blab from me** : "Okami"(Great God) is a prestigious title in Shintoism that is only given to Gods that possess great power and influence... the only ones we know in Persona that were able to achieve the title of Okami are:

Izanagi-no-Okami

Izanami-no-Okami

Haraedo-no-Okami (I wonder how she earned her own title, maybe it was something significant she did between Izanagi and Izanami...idk.)

Amaterasu (As "Sumeo-Okami" ...Yukiko's Ultimate Persona never actually changed at all.)

if you're wondering, Kasumi-no-Okami was a made up Goddess by Atlus (though she has some mythological background but only as a male god) so that doesn't count... and she is actually part of someone anyway.


	26. Chapter 26

Chariot Rank 2 – Chapter 26

{April 24, 2011} {Sunny}

Yu Narukami spends this nice Sunday with some TV shopping, he always looked forward to Tanaka's super handsome face…and special commodities of course! He later decides to hang with Kou and Daisuke at Okina city. Izanagi hosts his small book club with Yu's other personas in his room (namely Pixie, Slime, the Jack bros even if they don't read any of the books there at all, and his own daughter, Nozuchi… think about that last one friends…) It was an exciting day for the both of them…Yumiko spends some time with Magatsu-Izanagi at Adachi's, slowly but surely increasing diligence with cooking, showing determination in her quest for love…

* * *

{April 25, 2011} {Cloudy}

Narukami decided to join the Yasogami Music Club with "very tiny" freshman Ayane this time, because watching your friend's dad die in front of you is way too awkward the second time… I hope Yumi and the Drama Club could understand… After Getting home, the grey-haired boy got into the kitchen and then lovingly prepared a nice lunch for himself and a special someone…

* * *

{April 26, 2011} {Cloudy/Rainy}

[Classroom 2-2, Early Morning]

The Personas of the current Investigation team relaxed themselves at the back of the room while their human users have class time… the three of them mostly stayed quiet so Yu, Chie, and Yosuke could focus on school work without any more noise… Izanagi was quietly reading while Tomoe sat silently in deep thought about something, though Jiraiya was visibly restless of the mundane routine already…

"God, I'm sooo Boored of watching the beginning days play out just so we can seek the real truth later in the year… sometimes I wished my own memories of these events had been wiped (sigh)…" Jiraiya proceeded to fold his arms in agitation, Izanagi lifted his face from the book…

"Then it'll be twice as hard for me and my user since you wouldn't be able to carry Yosuke much through shadow fights without that combat knowledge already…" Izanagi disputed Jiraiya's complaint with a pretty solid point though regardless, the Ninja Frog scoffed at his pal's response…

"Hey, I'm a pretty quick thinker on my feet when it really counts in battle, ain't that right Tomoe?" Jiraiya began looking over to the yellow-cladded warrior on Izanagi's other side for support, though she remained undisrupted in her thinking… her two friends became curious of she was thinking about… the expression in her eyes seemed it was pretty sullen…

"Ah, Tomoe…?" The Ninja Frog made somewhat of an effort to shake his female friend out of her apparently gloomy thoughts, Izanagi began looking at the warrior woman with concern… he also began wondering about something lately too…

"Oh, What? Sorry…I was just thinking to myself…" Tomoe quickly remarked to them as she mentally returned back to the classroom though her tone made it seem there was something else too, Izanagi wondered what she had on her mind…

"Are you okay Tomoe? You know you can always confide within m-" Izanagi tried to support the Yellow-cladded warrior with whatever was on her mind but was met with some unexpected emotions.

"I KNOW OKAY!" Tomoe snapped at the Japanese God suddenly (who also jumped a little in surprise…) and then retreated back into her troubled thoughts… it seems it was a pretty heavy subject for her to talk right now…

"Heh, women am I right?" Jiraiya snickered and commented quietly to Izanagi, even nudging him to agree… The Japanese God took a moment of silence and then proceeded to ignore his buddy and tried to reason with Tomoe again…

"Anyways, like I said before… we can speak of whatever you're feeling down about if you feel the need to… I'll be here to listen…" Izanagi told Tomoe with genuine worry for her…

"I know… I apologize for shouting… it's been tough for me to think right now… I was actually wondering if we could speak later on… do you and Yu-kun have time for me and Chie today?" Tomoe wondered about that with an earnest expression in her glowing eyes, hoping to get some uncertainties off her mind…Izanagi nodded.

"Actually, Yu was planning on beginning his training with Chie-san today, he even made lunch for her…" Izanagi remarked as he held the wrapped boxed lunch in up for her to see…

"Oh, how very thoughtful of him… I'm sure my master will enjoy it…" Tomoe's expression became a lot cheerier after the fact, the three Personae then looked toward the front of the class as it continued on…

"I've heard there's a mysterious animal dwelling in the shopping district area… Supposedly, it knows how to search the change dispenser of the vending machines. How amazing is that? Even animals can learn the value of money...I guess I'll have to keep my wallet more secure from now on. Students, at your age you might not understand, but money is very important! You can't do anything without it! And you know, smarts don't guarantee wealth...Anyway, I guess I should do what they pay me for and lecture you. Let's see, we left off talking about the properties of whole numbers...Well, Miss Satonaka. Tell me which of these don't exist…" Mrs. Nakayama, the Math Teacher who is pretty superstitious (to the point she started getting a chilly feeling that weird unseen entities are watching her teach math in this class every day probably for some sick perverted rush to learn about numbers…or something) but she is also very concerned with her finances… Mrs. Nakayama began to patiently wait for the young girl in the bright sweater to answer… the class went silent for Chie as she was put on the spot…

"Uh… Wh-Which one was it?" Chie began trying not to fumble words as she spoke clearly, the spunky girl needed to think hard about it but quickly came to the conclusion that she honestly did not know… Chie looked toward her most reliable friend right now… the guy next to her.

"Do you know, Yu-kun? I don't think I've heard of any of these!" Chie had a face of slight panic as she looked to him, the grey-haired boy acted on instinct quickly to save her from any tough situation because he loves her…

"Marriage numbers…" Yu answered in a quick whisper to her so they wouldn't get caught this time, but some things can't be changed…

"That's actually correct… Next time Miss Satonaka, please just say honestly if you don't know the answer… Amicable numbers, betrothed numbers, and sociable numbers all exist as types of numbers. However, marriage numbers don't exist…" Nakayama continued her lecture to the class as Chie winced in reaction at being called out suddenly, though she was grateful for Yu's support nonetheless…

"Guess she knew I was asking you...But thanks, Yu-kun! I appreciate it!" Chie turned herself briefly to show the grey-haired boy a warm smile of her appreciation…Yu took this chance to invite her to lunch quickly…

"Oh, by the way Chie… wanna join me for lunch later? I do have some food to share…" Yu asked her quietly so they wouldn't be disruptive, the spunky girl thought about the grey-haired boy's offer and also began thinking if the lunch was possibly some delicious meat…

"Oh is it steak!? Wait, Yosuke didn't put you up to this, did he? You know, just so I could forget about the steak that HE owes me, right…?" Chie then looked behind her seat with scornful eyes to the Junes boy, Yosuke was laying his head on his desk in similar boredom to Jiraiya. The spunky girl was still remembering that her precious DVD of "Trial of The Dragon" had been taken by the pure clumsiness of her friend…

"(sighs) Yeah, whatever…I know…" Yosuke had foolishly hoped that would be already water under the bridge or least she should have somehow forgotten about it by now… I mean it's not like Junes has copies in stock, right?

"No he didn't, I was just wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch-time, that's all…" Yu honestly admitted to her, appearing to be somewhat understanding of her thinking that was the case, but it's not like Chie was gonna say "no" to him anyway…she nodded.

"Sure, why not!" Chie told him with a cheerful expression, the two briefly shared a smile between each other afterward and soon returned their full attention to class…

* * *

[Yasogami High rooftop, Lunchtime]

The grey-haired protagonist reflected to himself what has happened so far in the month as he sat next to Chie while they shared his large food box that was placed between them… the two also began talking more about stuff that wasn't about the murder cases or the TV World… Yu found it refreshing that he could finally enjoy some of the energetic girl's company after all the struggle that was on their shoulders in the past few days…

Though as Yu and Chie happily chatted about stuff and ate together, the Fool reminded himself that the path to the truth was going to be a long one, he kept trying to just play along with their discussions, knowing the outcomes of each Midnight Channel case but could do nothing to truly speed them up or else consequences of falling into a loop… He also started to feel some real guilt from watching his friends as they showed frustration to reach the answers he already knew; did they have to be kept in the dark about all of this? He already had solved the mystery with them before, he also sternly believed that he knew all of the secrets to that shadow world in the TV, He wished that he could take on Adachi alone instead of waiting till December when all the pieces were in place… That way, He could enjoy the rest of year with his friends in relative peace, and meet them all in possibly different circumstances…but then again…would they share the same strong bond that they cultivated together in solving the case? Yu Narukami thought hard about his situation a little more now than before…Chie soon finished her half of the lunch box…

"Whoa Yu-kun, It's delicious! I've never eaten anything that tastes this good before!" The Spunky Girl exclaimed out loud cheerfully as she greatly enjoyed the lunch, unknowingly shaking Narukami from his previous thoughts.

"I want more, but I don't wanna finish it all! What a dilemma!" Chie wholeheartedly expressed with delight to the grey-haired boy next to her, she placed the half-done lunch box between them again…

"That's okay Chie, I'm just glad you liked it…" Yu smiled warmly at her, the spunky girl took in the way his expression was into thought and then gazed at the lunchbox in contemplation… her cheeks became rosy after reaching an explanation…oh my…

"Umm...Did you make this for me? Th-Thank you..." Chie had an embarrassed smile on face and began nervously fiddling with the strands of her brown hair… Yu began to laugh heartily at the girl's reaction, the two then spent the rest of the lunch period talking.

* * *

[Second Floor Classroom, After School]

Both Yu and Chie were packing up at their desks as School was pretty much done for today, Both Izanagi and Tomoe waited by the door as Yosuke and Jiraiya took their leave after exchanging some quick goodbyes… As Chie stuffed textbooks into her small blue bag, she eyed over to Narukami next to her as he finished up clearing his space… Chie then spoke out to him…

"Hey, Yu-kun you doing anything today?" Chie asked him out of interest… she began wondering if he would say yes to her idea…

"Nothing in particular… you wanna hang out?" The grey-haired boy responded to Chie with a nice simple smile on his face, he was actually hoping she would ask first anyway and so when she did, he got all giddy inside… Izanagi knew him all too well… Tomoe chuckled in amusement…

"Great! Then come with me!" Chie soon led the tall transfer kid off the school grounds, she hoped that the most reliable person she knew right now could lend her a hand with training since she's still pretty new to the whole "Persona" thing…

* * *

[Samegawa Riverbank, After School]

The two teenagers along with their respective Personas had made their way to the floodplains… Chie runs into an open space near the river with Yu following her lead, the Personas decided to hang back while their users spend time together… The spunky energetic girl began looking around herself in the spot…

"Hmmm, this looks like a good spot. I need to hone my kicking skills, or I won't be able to use them in battle. I tried practicing at home…But my mom and dad yelled at me for putting a hole in the shoji… Still, now's the time to train, right!?" Chie quickly turned around to face Narukami with an expression of enthusiasm to get stronger…

"Right!" Yu responded with equal enthusiasm to the girl and the two proceeded to high-five in eagerness for training, Izanagi and Tomoe couldn't help but think those two kids were always such huge dorks in public when they're together… but that's also something special they share too.

"You think so, too!? Soooo...Let's train together!" Chie declared to Narukami with a fist of intense determination and twinkle in her eye, she wanted to try her luck to get a good training partner outta her team leader… She wondered what he'll say to that…

"…Is that okay with you, Yu-kun?" Chie asked him with a pleading expression using sad puppy dog eyes so he'll say yes, the grey-haired protagonist chuckled quietly to himself as he thought she was cute whenever she did that face…

"I'm cool with it… besides there may be stronger shadows waiting for us in the TV World… we'll need to be prepared for anything!" Yu told her with a smile, Chie's face lit up at his answer…

"Yesss! Thanks, Yu-kun!" The Spunky girl pumped both her fists in the air along with a cheerful face… though right after, her eyes look downward to the grassy ground between them… Chie began to talk about her personal thoughts to Yu… She couldn't forget that one moment of weakness in the castle, she needed to get stronger… though she has no clear idea why she needs to… but maybe Yu Narukami can help her reach an answer…

"That thing...Y'know, from before? I mean when that Shadow came out of me… I really feel pathetic knowing that's another "me." Makes me feel like I gotta work harder! Allllright, let's do it! Between you and me, we'll be unstoppable!" A determined and proud Chie suddenly made a fist and pushed it lightly into Narukami's Chest and their eyes met… Yu could see the fire in her beautiful brown eyes had been raging ever since Yukiko's Castle, He nodded with an equally serious look in agreement with her, the spunky dragon smiled brightly to him in gratitude.

"Ok! Let's start today with frog leaps… C'mon, you try some!" Chie declared with eagerness to start their training today with what is probably the most awkward looking exercise that looks even funnier in a wet and grassy environment…

"D-Do I really have to go first…" Yu admitted sadly as he got into the proper starting position by lowering himself into a frog-like stance while Chie stood over him with a cheerful smile on her face. He hoped that no one sees them while they did this… though the spunky girl in the green sweater doesn't mind if people do look… her courage to be herself always is something Yu admired deeply about her even if it gets really embarrassing at times… they started doing the "exercise" as Tomoe and Izanagi watched on while sitting together on top of the river bank…

"Oh dear, seeing this now reminds me that Master holds no reservations with Yu-kun when it comes to training amongst the public… Thank goodness normal people can't see us when we train…" Tomoe remarked Izanagi as she lowered her head in embarrassment of all those times her and Izanagi did a bunch of cool action poses for spell cast practice… Izanagi spoke to her of what he thought.

"I believe that's another reason that Yu holds Chie-san so highly in his eyes, She's always herself wherever and whenever… my user, on the other hand has to wear many masks around people… I think that's what draws Yu to your Master in a way different to the other girls he knows… he could be "himself" around her… sure she's "normal" but there's a lot more to her than that… she tries to help others in any way she could…" Izanagi told the yellow-cladded warrior in a genuine tone of voice…

"I wish Yu-kun could have articulated his feelings for her before like the way you can do… well, now anyways…" Tomoe remarked to him in return, it seems she still feels some grief for the things had turn for both her master and herself in the first cycle…

"He was eventually going to but there wasn't enough time to do it the way he wanted to… though Yu wishes to try again without fail…" Izanagi clarified to her a little than before…

"I see… I hope my master will hear his words more clearly this time…" The yellow cladded woman warrior had hoped inside, though there was still lingering doubt…

"She will… it's a genuine promise my user will keep to you and her…" Izanagi assured her…

"I've wanted to talk about something with you for a while now… I have questions in my mind that I think only you could help me answer…" Tomoe mentioned to the Japanese God as some personal stuff came back into her thoughts…

"Does it regard things about your past, Tomoe? I was wondering about some stuff too…" Izanagi began thinking of that time back at the castle, she referred to someone when she was in her crazy state of mind…

"I'll be glad to share whatever you're thinking…" Tomoe clarified with some eagerness to receive advice from the Persona she admired most… Izanagi took a moment to ready his words.

"Back when you were Chie-san's shadow… I recalled that you compared me to someone else during our battle… "Him" is what you said… who did you mean…? If you don't mind me asking…" Izanagi inquired about that but felt he was prying a little too, though oddly… Tomoe didn't mind one bit.

"…Oh, I was referring to my former husband, back when I was mortal… I pledged myself to a man that I greatly idolized… until we were separated at a great battle in the history of our land… after that, I was alone in the sea of souls… Well, until I met you…" Tomoe then moved her hand close to his as they sat, the sunset was nearing close… Izanagi remained silent for her…

"You reminded me of him so much… I thought it would have been wrongful to pursue another love with someone similar to my first… that would have been very unfair to you. I was still loving a shadow… until I realized something…" Tomoe spoke sincerely about her past with a former samurai master she knew, Izanagi waited to hear what she realized…

"When you told me that you wanted me to remain by your side always… you became someone unlike him, you saw me as an equal partner… my husband forced me to leave him as he laid dying on that bloody battlefield… because he would be ashamed to die with a woman… even after that I foolishly still fought for him…Until I passed on myself… I don't even remember how…" Tomoe suddenly became frustrated as she was finding it difficult to speak about those times even if she already put them behind herself… her gloved hand reached out to Izanagi's for support, He extended his hand in response and began holding hers… Izanagi took a moment to speak so she could calm down.

"I think I remember Yoshitsune mentioning what he thought of him… and that you should be look for someone worthy in your eyes…" Izanagi mentioned to her, since he still remembered that time training back then… Tomoe nodded.

"I began thinking about him after, He always was truly resentful of me… for being the better warrior in his entire army of men… When he was still my master, he had me fight his battles to feed his own ambition, betraying both his allies and his family… in order to keep the power for himself… I still believed he was a good man until that day…" Tomoe sorrowfully expressed with her head lowered… she began tightening her grasp on Izanagi… She finally was confessing her feelings in full…

"… I guess that's why I allowed all of my feelings for you to be freely expressed in my heart, You're truly are a good man, Izanagi. I wish to love… Someone I want to fight for…" Tomoe began looking him in the eyes with deep admiration for his valor across the first cycle, Izanagi felt touched by her words… but her thinking was way off in his opinion…

"…"

"I'm not someone that's worthy of fighting for Tomoe… to be very truthful…" Izanagi remarked in a low voice to her, Tomoe began thinking he was just being modest like always…

"But If you ask me, you are someone I'm very honored to fight alongside… A woman worth a thousand men…" Izanagi cheerfully told her, Tomoe's helmet somehow began glowing red in fluster, those words really mean a lot to her… the woman warrior closed her glowing eyes… she wrapped around Izanagi's arm with her other hand…

"Now, I'm not even sure if any these memories are true anymore… but that doesn't matter as long we're here together… Right?" Tomoe began leaning her head onto Izanagi's shoulder in quiet bless… the sunset was finally here… the Persona users were almost done with their training exercises.

"Hehe, You're right but then Chie-san might see us and freak out about what to think… The day is sadly almost over… Let's go back, shall we?" Izanagi playfully suggested, Tomoe sadly nodded in agreement to that, the two soon got up from the ground and began making their way back to Yu and Chie, the sunset was in its full glory now…

* * *

Omake #6 – The Childhood of Two Creative Twins – (Part 1)

{Unknown Date but when the Sea of the Unconscious was still pretty **Chaotic** …}

[ **Takamagahara** , probably past breakfast time? I don't know, there's no sun or moon Persona yet…]

On the very fluffy white clouds in the cognitive version of Japanese Heaven, stood a Young Goddess who was clothed in white traditional robes decorated with shiny red trinkets, she had long greyish hair with a particular set of crimson-colored eyes...

In curiosity, the Young Goddess got onto her hands and knees to peek inside a small opening in the clouds… there she saw the vast **Sea of the Unconscious** way underneath the heavenly realm that she knew… it looked cold, dark and almost jelly-like in appearance…icky, she thought to herself…

Though the Young Goddess decided to look closer in, the dark mass that was The Sea had both newborn and older human souls inside of it, it resembled something like bright stars in a pretty night sky, it was not only a few but a great many scattered throughout The Sea… the glimmering shine of each human soul had captivated the young goddess in their brilliance… it was a very beautiful thing to see despite the first impressions she had…

Izanami had never looked upon The Sea before with her own eyes, though the ruling Elder Gods would always talk about it… So, she naturally took it upon herself to see it in person… it was an intriguing new discovery to her. Suddenly, a boy clothed in black traditional robes with also greyish hair and crimson-colored eyes called to her from a distance…

"Nami! You missed breakfast! …I think, I don't know!" The Caring Older Brother shouted to her, it was always too dark in the sky for them to tell when to eat the right stuff… The Brother came running to where she was in the clouds…

"Sorry Nagi, I was wondering what The Sea looked like… One day from today, we'll be going down there too…" Izanami spoke with hints of nervousness and anxiety, what if she and her brother fail too like many others had at this one task?

"Oh, still worrying about how we're gonna create a World from that Chaos jelly down there? Like I've told you before sis, I'm sure we can do it once we grow up!" Izanagi expressed rather optimistically to his younger sister, he was clearly the cheerier one of the two…

"Well, all of our older brothers, sisters, and even our parents tried and couldn't do it… what makes you SO sure we can…?" Izanami looked at her brother with pretty skeptical eyes… she didn't have confidence to believe that they could complete their task yet, though her older twin brother was different from her in terms of outlook on their situation, he was always smiling…

"I honestly don't know, but there's no point in being a bunch of worrywarts about it!" Izanagi admitted but still keeping the cheery vibe to his tone.

"*sighs* You're always so laid back about everything, huh Nagi…?" Izanami uttered as her eyes casted downward in slight gloominess of it all, can they really bring out **the** **potential inside humanity's hearts?**

In a quick moment, Izanagi suddenly took her small hand with his and then proceeded to ham up his voice in cheerful declaration to shake his little sister out of that miserable mood…

"Oh Nami… we're still in our glorious youth and yet you choose to worry about stuff way into the future, come and enjoy the present day with me!" A happy-looking Izanagi then suddenly began running aimlessly through the white cloudy plains with a pretty startled Izanami quickly following him so she wouldn't fall down…

From a small cloud above the rest, a mysterious female kami with long raven black hair in extravagant robes sat silently and observed the young twin kami playfully run around without a care, she began to smile underneath the silver mask that concealed her face…

* * *

Author's Notes: Oh Boy, almost 20,000 views... I really can't believe it... thank you guys so much. I'm gonna start work on the next chapter today! I'll release a special about all the stuff that was conceptualized for the story I'm writing, and don't worry! No spoilers for anything of my own ideas that I'm doing for Persona 4.

My Short Review: Persona 5 was super great but if you're looking for the "Golden or FES" experience you'll probably want to wait like two years from now...

\- The battle that Tomoe was talking about in her past was The Battle of Awazu during the Genpei War(a kind of clan war if you want the abridged version... it took place in the 1000s. Her husband and master was Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoshitsune's cousin)

\- Aeon get's established in the next chapter...


	27. Chapter 27

No, Narukami doesn't know any normal girls! - Chapter 27

{April 27, 2011} {Rainy}

[Dojima Residence, Early Morning]

It was raining once again in the rather sleepy town of Inaba, Narukami formally prepared himself for the school day as he began gazing out his room window… the heavy drips of the pouring shower were heard as they hit the glass noisily… The grey-haired protagonist got his oddly stylish school blazer on after a diligent ironing…

"Looks like the rain isn't letting up… there's not much I could today, and the opportunity for fishing isn't open to me til May 1st, if I remember. This actually might be a boring day for once, don't you think Izanagi…?" Yu looked over toward Izanagi with a small smile, his persona was sitting in the corner near the futon, the Japanese God quietly finished the latest volume of Witch Detective with odd satisfaction in his yellow-swirly eyes, he soon closed the book… Izanagi was all caught up until next year! He then set it on his user's desk and responded.

"Maybe, is music practice with Ayane available on this day?" Izanagi inquired to the transfer student with his eyes looking over at his user's Trumpet case on the desk side… still wondering how Yu could play with such genuine feeling on the first day of practice, maybe it was his high expression…? Who really fucking knows! It's all super weird to him…

"No, she only has practice Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays… today's a Wednesday…" Yu recalled for his persona, he wondered on what to do today, He wanted to do everything that was important as soon as possible but it wasn't all open to him yet…

"Let us check the calendar then and see what we can do…" Izanagi got up from sitting in the corner as he eyed the Persona 3 calendar in the room, He and Narukami went over to the calendar hanging by the door, it used up throughout 2011, detailing what the two of them did each day… but it was all now just a jumbled mess with awkward abbreviated names of friends and their arcana overlapping activities which were kinda needless to do at this point in time. On top of that, it was all written in colored marker that became so smudged, a lot of it was very unreadable, there were also little notes on certain days like "PS. need more magic markers, also stock up on more steak…" After taking a good hard look at the calendar, the grey-haired protagonist sighed as all of his hard work had been undone in a single moment due to his overconfidence in the "Normal Truth" …it's time.

"I guess we really can't use this again, might as well trash it…" Yu sadly removed the used up calendar and woefully threw it into the small trash can, making a mental note to get a fresh new one at shopping district… he gazed up to Izanagi standing next to him…

"Well it's not all that bad, I'll try to make the most outta every day! Well, except this one…" The grey-haired boy shaped a small smile for his Persona, though his eyes were a little gloomy-looking. Seeing his user's solemn expression, Izanagi quickly came up with a suggestion in mind to get him out of that miserable state...

"Why not go into the Velvet Room for now, thou do have some money to spend on thyself for Personas ready to fight while we're waiting for Yukiko-san to recover in the meantime…" Izanagi then held up a really stuffed coin purse for Narukami's eyes to see… The Japanese God had to struggle to hold the "worn and torn" purse with both of his claw hands, it was over 9 million yen for Messiah's sake!

"Okay, let's do that after school then! Time to head out, Izanagi!" The grey-haired protagonist's outlook brightened up a little more with an added smile on his face. He laid his book bag over the shoulder and readied an umbrella for use, he then mindlessly made his way out the bedroom door with the Japanese God still struggling to hold up the coin purse as he tried following his user slowly to Yasogami…

* * *

{-Velvet Room-}

Right after classes, Narukami and his Persona entered the Room between dream and reality, mind and matter. The grey-haired boy found himself sitting in the backseat of the same-old but still strange limo ride through the white fog. The long-nose Igor, his assistant Margaret, and Marie were in their usual spots, each of their eyes were on the guest complete with smiles… except Marie whose expression was that of astonishment… she began to speak quickly as he had just entered the room.

"Huh…? You came… I'm surprised. I didn't think you were interested… Look, I'm sure you already know, but I want you to take me somewhere…" Marie suddenly requested some time off from the Velvet room to the grey-haired boy, catching him by surprise somewhat…

"What? Wait, hold on-I just needed some Perso-" Yu tried to take control of the situation from escalating into something weird but the hipster girl had her words already prepared before he could finish…

"It's small, it's dark, The Nose never really says anything… and It's stuffy in here…" Marie speedily mentioned the things that she personally found pretty annoying as she's been cooped up in this room for a good while now. Igor and Margaret kept quiet during all this, the grey-haired boy heard the hipster girl's complaints soundly and so he decided to take it under consideration… but first was getting back his personas!

"Okay, but first I just need my-" Yu struggled to get a word in but was once again interrupted by the raven-haired girl, it seems this was a setup for something…

"I'm really not supposed to leave the room, but Margaret said it'd be okay if I went with you. I, uh… Well, never mind. So, will you take me somewhere?" Marie's tone became politer, but her bright-green eyes were very pressing on Narukami as if demanding him to… the grey-haired boy directed his own eyes to the Velvet Attendant in question for an explanation, to which she simply shrugged her shoulders with an almost mischievous smile on her face, He then remembered that he did owe Margaret a favor for finding the compendium by babysitting Marie, it seemed that he didn't have much choice in the matter… Izanagi began to speak in Yu's mind…

"It seems Marie-san wants to go outside… If thou become closer to her, maybe she could tell thou something…" The Japanese God mentioned in his user's mind, the grey-haired boy decided to cave-in without further argument… a day with Marie… hmm.

"*sighs* Sure… I guess…" A somewhat miffed Yu answered her pleading wish to see the outside, Marie began to have a slight smug smile to her face…

"Really!? …Don't you think you're giving in too easily? I'll have you twisted around my finger if this keeps up. "Twisted around my finger…" That's the saying, right? I've been studying… Well then, let's go…" Marie's expression grew with great anticipation to see the outside world again, Yu slightly rolled his eyes at her remark…

"Yeah, okay kid…" Narukami uttered under his breath in slight annoyance of being unable to accomplish just one simple thing in the Velvet Room, though his annoyed mood did lighten up a little since this totally sounded like a new "social link" to discover… might be worth the effort at least… He decided to take Marie outside the Velvet Room… leaving the other two residents alone… Margaret sighed in relief that's the Skill Card manager is away for a bit…

"Marie is quite the handful to care, isn't she?" Margaret expressed over to her long-nosed master with tired eyes, she laid the grimoire gently on her lap as she fell into her seat to relax for a bit… she closed her eyes…

"Remember Margaret, you agreed to look after her because you firmly believe that this girl was a key in his journey to the truth… was your judgement to allow her stay in the Velvet Room wrong before its even proven to be?" Igor questioned her if she felt any doubt, he began laying out tarot cards on the small table in front of him as he waited for a response from his attendant…

"No Master…*yawn* not at all…" Margaret spoke from a slouched position; she began finding it difficult to keep awake…

"That's pleasing to hear hmhm, though I still wonder how you even came across our new employee… and why you see great things in her for the sake of our guest, maybe even you can see things that I can't… in the future. This is getting very intriguing to observe… as I do say so myself, right Margaret?" As Igor spoke, his framed grin became slightly more genuine in its expression… Margaret began snoring loudly as she had fallen asleep during what he was saying… oh dear.

* * *

[Shopping District South, After School]

Yu (with Izanagi) and Marie emerged from the Velvet Room door into the South Shopping District in Inaba, the trendy girl soon walked into the middle of the road to gather her surroundings… she took huge breaths of the fresh air in relief of the SUNNY DAY!? WHAT!? Yu became utterly flabbergasted as he looked up at the blue sky with the shining yellow sun and absolutely no clouds whatsoever in sight along with Izanagi by his side…

"I-It was raining right? I-I've could have sworn the weather forecast said it was gonna be all day…" The wide-eyed city boy uttered to his astonished persona with mouth still agape at this sudden change…

"Indeed that's true… but what could have created such a change so rapidly? Wait… do thou think it could have been Marie-san?" Both Izanagi and his user began observing toward a pleased-looking Marie on the road in almost stunned bewilderment, wondering if she had probably played a part in the sudden change of the weather… Marie expressed her relief with the stretch of her arms up and a sigh of happiness…

"Phew… I can finally breath… It's stuffy in that car. Y'know, I feel weird. It's like…nostalgic, for the smell and all…" Marie expressed herself as she continued to look around the district in curiosity, she took a smell of the air again with her nose, the smell of the wet pavement…

"Ah, Nostalgic…?" The grey-haired boy questioned what she meant by that, Izanagi grew curious too.

"Yeah, nostalgic. That's what I said. It just… feels that way. There's a lot of stuff that I've never noticed before… A "Steak Skewer?" Marie's eyes widen as she noticed the menu board on the Souzai Daigaku food stand, she began making her way to the front of it in interest, passing Narukami by as he watched her move close to the food stand… the lady working there did not see Marie approach her…

"Hey, Lady… I want one of those skewers things…" Marie pointed to the menu board above her head with a somewhat impatient tone of voice, the lady heard her roughly but she got the message…

"Oh, hello. That'll be 320 yen, please…" The lady at the stand told Marie politely with a smile… Marie was oddly dumbstruck by what she said.

"Thwee hunnert twin...Bleh. That's hard to say. You can't eat without money?" The hipster girl of the Velvet Room jumbled the words she heard and realized how a part of this world is actually like, she began to pout slightly by this fact of life here… Izanagi spoke behind his user as he observed her.

"Wait a moment…"Three" gives her trouble, but not "nostalgic? I mean, my ex-wife could technically count to a thousand, and math wasn't even a much of a thing then…" A dumbfounded Izanagi pointed out that oddity to his user, Narukami too was kinda baffled…

"Well, want me to pay for it? I do have some money…" Yu Narukami, Persona user and Team Dad held out his dark-colored wallet for walking around money, Izanagi couldn't carry that heavy coin purse for too long…

"You have money!? That's awesome… You're awesome…" Marie's eyes lit up in surprise and proceeded to praise the Velvet Room guest, she even had a smile on her face. The two and Izanagi began eating some small steak skewers at the small table just outside the stand. Suddenly, Yosuke and his Persona Jiraiya make an appearance in the shopping district, they soon spot their best buddies near Souzai Daigaku, they decided to stop by and say hello… the Junes boy put on a smile and approached the grey-haired boy busily eating steak like he was training for something…

"Yo, Partner. Getting' your steak on, huh? She's cute, What? What's going on here…? Who's this!?" The Junes boy exclaimed in surprise to the eating protagonist as he then noticed he was sitting with a really cute hipster girl!? What!? Jiraiya then noticed Marie too from behind his user and seemed to be surprised that's he's never seen this girl before… The grey-haired boy thought quickly of a good response to his partner's probing question.

"Um…She's my little sister…" An unprepared Yu told him with a somewhat unconvincing tone in his voice. But with his high expression, it pretty much fooled Yosuke…

"Sis-!? …Well, she DOES have your eyes." Yosuke stated and then exchanged some noteworthy glances between Yu's pair of silver eyes and the strange girl's sliver eyes in wonder…

" _Wait, what?"_ Yu expressed under his breath and became alarmed as he heard the Junes boy's words. Yu returned his gaze to Marie's direction across the table and observed her pair of sliver eyes with contemplation, the hipster girl quickly noticed that the Wild Card was awkwardly staring at her though he didn't seem to know that he was doing so, it made Marie somewhat uneasy on how to feel about that.

That's weird, Yu thought to himself… he could have sworn her eyes were bright green a second ago…

"I'm not your sister… Why are you lying?" An accusing Marie called him out on it because that wasn't true as far she knew. Her serious tone had snapped the grey-haired boy from his thoughts while also making Yosuke jump in disbelief…

"Awww! What!? I totally fell for that one! Man, don't BS me when you know I'm gonna find out!" An upset Yosuke expressed to his buddy, Jiraiya couldn't believe that his user fell for such an obvious lie… The Ninja Frog rolled his eyes and quietly prompted the Junes boy into introducing himself to the weird girl since he forgot to sooner…

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm Yosuke Hanamura! I'm his friend… His partner, y'know…" Yosuke joyfully stated to the weird girl at the table, she became curious of what he said and something else too.

"…Partner? You mean like a close friend? And who's that Disco Ninja Frog behind you?" Marie oddly then pointed behind Yosuke over to Jiraiya who grew surprised at the sound of that peculiar nickname mostly, while the Junes boy was greatly shocked that this seemingly normal girl could clearly see his power…

"Name's Jiraiya for your info, girly…" The Ninja Frog uttered quietly as he became exasperated by the sound of that stupid nickname that Teddie's Persona gave him, it was spreading… but how? The Ninja Frog began thinking about it as Izanagi softly chuckled because even Marie knew what to describe him as…

"Huh? Wait, you can see my Persona!? Does that mean you have a Persona too!?" Yosuke expressed to the really strange girl, his tone became louder as he was very curious about that, the grey-haired boy didn't want to make an odd scene at the shopping district…

"Whoa Yosuke, just calm down… I'll explain later, why not get know each other for now… Okay?" Yu told him with a very reasonable attitude, Yosuke quickly got the message that he was being a little too loud in a public place…

"Oh, Er I mean, wh-what's your name…?" Yosuke asked the girl as he began to nervously chuckle and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Huh? Uh...Marie…" The hipster girl of the Velvet Room stated in response to the weird boy who claimed to be a "partner" to Narukami as she remembered the name she was given. Marie began wondering what her real name was… The Wild Card noticed she was in deep thought of something.

"Hmmm, Marie-chan, is it? You want a steak skewer? All right, this one's on me!" Yosuke noticed the finished skewers in front of her on the table, his words broke the girl from troubling thoughts…

"You mean you'll buy it for me? ...Is that okay?" Marie looked over at Yu across from her if it was appropriate to accept the offer from this "Yosuke" guy… He nodded his head along with a smile of approval.

"Thanks Yosuke, I owe you one…" Yu told his buddy behind him in gratitude, the Junes boy causally waved it off with a self-satisfied smile…

"Hey, don't worry! I got a little extra in my last paycheck. Three steak skewers! One for each of us." Yosuke politely gave his order to the lady at the counter of Souzai Daigaku.

 **"** Oh my, business is booming! Just a moment, please…" The lady manning the stand went to the back to prepare some more steak as Yosuke took a seat next at the table with the others. Him, Yu and Marie made some small talk as they waited for their food to be ready… Izanagi and Jiraiya were talking on the side walk near the outside table…

"Who's this girl, Izanagi? She's not normal that's for sure…" Jiraya inquired to Izanagi in curiosity of who Marie was to him and his Wild Card user…

"A new member of the Velvet Room supposedly…" Izanagi answered his with some hints of uncertainty, he felt something was off about Marie… he noticed when she changed the color of her eyes…

"That's bizarre… then again I don't know much about that mystery room in the first place…" Jiraiya clarified that for himself, Izanagi remembered something that was in the back of his mind.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about her for now… by the way, have you talked with Yosuke about… you know… your memories." Izanagi mentioned the other situation about their memories… Jiraiya had a tired sigh in response.

"I've been trying to find the right time to talk about it but he's been busy with Junes lately…" Jiraiya folded his arms slowly and looked behind himself to see Yosuke smiling as he talked with the other two teens at the table…

"Well, you never really know until you try, remember that." Izanagi positively expressed to cheer up his froggy companion from his tired mood. Even giving him a few friendly pats on the back, Jiraiya chuckled at his buddy's uncharacteristic behavior, though he knew the Japanese God of Creation meant well by what he was doing and uttered his quiet gratitude to him once more…

The three teens spent time together eating a lot of steak skewers and having conversations about stuff that Marie could not comprehend, so she remained mostly quiet while eating… even Izanagi and Jiraiya were talking of similar things as they sat on the roadside.

"Whew! Is that a bellyful or what! This place always has huge portions… So, Marie-chan, what d'you think of the local specialty?" Yosuke eagerly asked the rather strange but awfully cute hipster girl across the table, she had a pondering expression as she inspected a half-eaten skewer that she held in her hand.

"It's really weird. It's tough, hard to bite into, and it got cold while I was still eating it. It was delicious." Marie was oddly surprised herself as she continued to eat the skewer because it was pretty tasty.

"Oh, uh… That's good… Didn't sound like you liked it at the beginning there… But, all's well that ends well!" Yosuke remarked with a smile…

"Hey, why's it called "steak," anyway? Is it short for something…?" Marie asked the two boys about that in curiosity.

"Oh, It's short for beefsteak…" Narukami informed her, Marie then pondered a bit about the word… Izanagi and Jiraiya rejoined the teens at the table.

"Beefsteak? Huh…But if you drop the word "beef" from it, you don't get any sense of what it's made of. It should be, like… "Fsteak" or something like that…" Marie told the group her personal thoughts out of nowhere…

"Uh… Did she make a direct reference to something?" Jiraiya spoke and then began to hold his chin in deep thought with his webbed hand, Izanagi did the same but then snapped his fingers after quickly reaching a conclusion.

"Oh, this must be a result from the fandom's actions for pushing those things called "Meh-mes" very hard." Izanagi seemed convinced though the ninja frog became dumbfounded at whatever he said.

"That's, uh, not much better… Marie-chan's a strange kid, huh? Well, that makes her cute… I guess?" Yosuke tried to reason with himself about what she saying, Yu led out an awkward laugh for Marie's sake, though he was cringing on the inside.

"You eat 'this' every day? No fair. I should've come earlier…" Marie spoke in envy of the grey-haired boy, As Marie took a liking to steak skewers, the Junes boy recalled something he forgot to do a lot earlier.

"AH, CRAP! I left my key back in locker at work! Jiraiya! Why didn't you remind me!?" Yosuke quickly turned over to his persona as he was freaking out.

"I honestly thought it would be funny… it is! Hehe!" Jiraiya then began to laugh and hold his stomach, floating right behind his user.

"I've gotta go back to Junes! See you later, Yu! You too, Marie-chan!" Yosuke quickly gave his goodbyes, he then quickly took off with his froggy persona following him, still laughing at him.

"…Your "partner" is a funny person." Marie remarked in slight interest of Yosuke's character, finding him to be kind of an oddball even if he's a normal person in this world…

"That he is…" Yu admitted that the Junes boy's behavior at certain points could be eccentric from time to time…

"Hm… But he bought me meat. That makes him a good person… That is fact." Marie stated to herself, she seemed to believe it too, Yu found those words to be kinda surprising…

"Hehe, you kinda sound like somebody I know…" Yu began vividly thinking about Chie, she had this rather cute smile and wink in his thoughts, the hipster girl spoke to him after a while of trying to get what he meant… people are weird.

"Hey, let's go somewhere else. Somewhere with a nice view…do you a place?" Marie suddenly requested with anticipation to see more of this town…

"Well, I got an idea if you're up for it… Let's go Izanagi." Yu told the Japanese God behind him, he nodded in agreement, the three were soon off to somewhere else in Inaba.

* * *

[Samegawa Floodplains, After School]

Narukami and his persona Izanagi decided to bring Marie to the Samegawa floodplains… Because of the girl's curiosity to see the new sights and wander, every time the pair of truth seekers took their eyes off her, they've lost track of her several times. After probably the 12th time of losing her, they manage to bring her to the hill overlooking the town, Marie decided to take her time to observe the vivid wet greenery and lush of the bushes and trees around her…

"Hmmm… It's really green here. Green and... green. And some brown and... Darker green? Leaves of green fly away, Farewell to you, clouds of the sky… I fly as well, lost as the day. Farewell to you, moon of the night…" Marie began murmuring something quietly to herself in seemingly burning passion as she spoke… Whatever it is, it rhymes… it's obviously poetry guys… Yu and Izanagi were next to her and took interest in the odd things she was saying… after a bit of watching her go, Yu decided to speak.

"You're into poetry? That's kinda surprising, I never would have guessed… hehe." Yu chuckled slightly in amusement and began to have this weird smirk as he was getting to know the girl that he was merely babysitting, his sudden words broke Marie quickly from her deep thoughts and she became embarrassed by him noticing her…

"N-No! I-I-I wasn't making up a poem! It's just some words that I was thinking! That's all! Yeah!" The flustered Marie tried to make that clear to him, but the Wild Card kept chuckling the more she tried to deny it…

"ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk! D-Don't snoop on me!" Marie began angrily blushing while Yu started bursting into laughter at her overreaction, much to her chagrin. Izanagi curiously started pondering her words all the while as they seemed to loosely remind him of the old times with his ex-wife… that's strange, he thought… after calming Marie down, Yu took her to the spot on the hill where the whole town could be seen. Marie gazed over Inaba in amazement of it… it was a small town, but a peaceful one too

"Wow, it's pretty big… I don't know why, but I feel good about this place… It reminds me of something… Are there any other places we can go? I want to see more…" Marie turned over to the grey-haired boy with a request to see even more, but it was almost getting late so they'll might end this soon…

"I guess I can show you around more when I got the time…" Yu told her with a slight smile after having a pretty good laugh at her expense…

"Please do… I notice a lot of things when I'm with you. It's pretty fun…" Marie expressed with a smile in return, the grey-haired boy began to sense that Marie expected something of him. He oddly felt that he could understand Marie a bit more now… Izanagi quickly took his cue…

" **Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Aeon Arcana."**

The Japanese God dramatically declared above the two teens, twinkling stars shining around him, Marie found him to be kinda odd and weird-looking too….

"Does he always do that…?" Marie questioned the Wild Card about the persona Izanagi's odd display of enthusiasm for forming bonds…

"Yeah, but only in the beginning… we've settled on that." Yu clarified to the hipster girl with a straight-faced and an informed tone of voice, it was kinda embarrassing at times but it's one of his persona's hobbies so he can't really complain.

"All right, next! Where to now?" Marie enthusiastically expressed to the grey-haired protagonist as they began walking around Samegawa some more, Yu and Izanagi decided to take her near the riverbank for a brief while before going back…

* * *

{Samagawa Floodplains}

[Riverbank, After school]

Marie was the first one down the steps that led to into the bank of the gentle river with Yu following her lead, His persona Izanagi suddenly decided to call it a day and then retreated into his user's mind. The unexpected sunny day had made the water become vividly clear to the point the fish native to Inaba could be seen swimming freely in it… As Marie reached the bottom of the stone steps, she looked ahead and noticed familiar figure in a student uniform… it was Yumiko Shirasagi!

"Huh? What's she doing here…" Marie was surprised to see Yumiko in this place and began pondering to herself what could she be doing here exactly, she continued silently watching the odd grey-haired girl in what she was doing near the river, Yumiko had in her hands this strange rod with some kind of thin line attached… and at the end of the line was a fish! Marie was oddly intrigued and fascinated by this device's function to catch fish…

"Hmm? What's wrong Marie…?" Narukami came to Marie's side and asked what had gotten her attention suddenly, he then began to looking in the same direction as her. Yu's eyed widen in surprise to see his newly-minted Kohai fishing in his own personal spot, she even had this small tin bucket near where she was… presumably for all the fish she caught.

The grey-haired protagonist wondered why she was fishing first of all, he was curious to find out. He and Marie began their approach to Yumiko's location with differing curiosities, they were soon noticed by the old fisherman that taught Yu how to fish in the first cycle of the year.

"Hey there boy! Have you ever seen such an amazing natural gift for fishing that this little lady has!? She's so proficient, even watching her go at it reminds me of myself in my glory days!" The elderly and happy-looking master fisherman told them with great enthusiasm, Yu had never before heard such words of praise come from the old man's mouth, not even when he reached his level by catching the guardian of Inaba… Wait… the grey-haired boy began contemplating about something important he mention this morning… the starting fishing set from May 1st! The date to get it may have been changed!

"Ah excuse sir, do you have an old fishing set I could borrow? I want to learn how to fish myself…" Yu told the old man with an interested look on his face, but the old fisherman simply shrugged his shoulders in response…

"Sorry sonny, I did have one but I gave it to that nice young lady when she found my missing fishing hook in return for her kindness, now ain't that just the sweetest?" The beaming Old fisherman nodded over to Yumiko who managed to catch a nice-sized Inaba trout while they were talking, the grey-haired girl carefully inspected the fish, she then cheerfully nodded in approval and proceeded to release it into the bucket next to her feet, she diligently prepared her fishing line and casted it into the river once more with a bright smile of confidence. Marie began to wonder why the velvet room guest beside her had gone oddly quiet after…

"Ah… What's wrong with you?" Marie questioned him after seeing a look of dread on the Wild Card's face, he was now fearing that he may have been locked out of fishing, he seriously needed that Mandala Robe from Margaret now more than ever! The anxious-looking schoolboy from the city hastily advanced toward the girl with Marie now the one following him, Yumiko noticed he was coming… her face lit up in surprise to see him here… with Marie too!? What Madness is this!? She quickly composed herself and carefully minded her expression to not let any forms of envy show on her face…

"*gasp* Hello Narukami~Senpai! Wow! I'm surprised to see you here, were you watching me?" Yumiko served up a lovely smile for him to see after retrieving her fishing line out of the water. Marie stood awkwardly by Yu's side, she was kinda too embarrassed to be seen by her quirky friend in front of the Wild Card so she tried hiding her face with her blue hat so she wouldn't be noticed...

"H-Hey there Yumiko! Wow, you're really good at luring fish! D-Do you mind lending me your fishing set sometimes, I don't have one myself but I like to fish too…" The nervous protagonist began rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment of asking for it but he really had no choice, Marie was surprised that the two already personally knew each other before she really did with him…

"OH, do you really need it senpai…?" The grey-haired girl curiously looked at the old fishing rod in hand and then to her handsome upperclassman's face whose expression was just faintly begging for it, she flourished a slight mischievous smile as she thought he was just too adorable…

"Well I'm sorry Narukami senpai, I can't give it right now because I'm trying to catch all kinds of fresh fish so I could experiment with cooking them for my Home EC Class… how about I'll give it to you when I'm done? Deal?" Yumiko cheerfully offered him, the grey-haired boy was oddly surprised by how easy that was… wait, she's actually learning how to cook properly? That would've sound almost preposterous to future Yosuke.

"What? Oh that's right, I remember showing you around that room… Well, I'm pretty impressed that you were able to learn fishing much quicker than me just for that… you mind teaching me how to get better like you? Heh…" Yu oddly began to display a smile of appreciation for her natural ability, Yumiko's heart began to freely flutter at the sound of his praising words.

The sport of fishing is a love that is pure to Yu and now Yumiko who seemed to be greatly enjoying it too despite only learning a while ago… they eagerly began sharing their secret techniques to each other, Marie truly couldn't comprehend how they felt about that stuff, though she kinda wanted to feel that too in a way… the love for… outdoor hobbies? Marie thought deeply to herself about it, Yumiko then noticed the interested Marie hiding slightly behind her Senpai... who then tried to hide herself completely when she was spotted by her… Yumiko giggled in response to her awkward shyness.

"Oh Senpai! I didn't know that you're were friends with Mariko! It's really a small town huh? Heehee…" Yumiko cheerfully remarked to the tall boy among them with an embarrassed Marie coming out of her hiding spot now that it was too late to go back, Marie stealthily glared at her female friend for using that dumb nickname in Public, Yumiko grew a slightly mischievous smile in response... Yu was surprised that his "seemingly odd but normal" Kohai already knew about Marie… he wondered in the back of his mind as it was kinda suspicious given what Philemon said about them, he decided ask questions later.

"Wow, I didn't know that you guys knew each other, so "Mariko" huh? That's adorable to be honest…" Yu stated to Marie in a playful manner with the hipster girl growing red in the face, fuming and flustered by the two of them.

"Y-You two are just the WORST! S-ShutupIhateyoubothyoubunchofmeanstupididiots!" Marie childishly ranted and pouted between them on fishing platform, clenching and shaking both her fists wildly as she grew upset by their teasing of her, the two snickered in good fun at her expense, Yumiko then thought of something to cheer Marie up from being mad…

"Aw, come on Mariko! We're just joking! Here, how about I teach you how to fish, since I saw that you were pretty interested!" Yumiko happily stated with Marie suddenly becoming nervous about trying…

"H-Huh? Uh, I don't know about this… what if I can't even get a single one of those water creatures?" Marie grew a little self-conscious about doing this strange thing called "fishing" since her other two acquaintances were already kinda experts without much effort, they might make fun of her again too, but truthfully they're were encouraging for this.

"Well, you don't know unless you try, remember that I'm here to help too! Hey senpai, wanna help my Mariko catch a fish?" Yumiko planted her hands of support on Marie's shoulders which kind of startled the girl a little as Yumiko then thrusted the fishing rod into her hands, the grey-haired girl then gazed over at Yu with tenacity…

"I would be glad to… Okay, let's do this!" Yu stated to both girls with determination in his eyes, he and Yumiko then proceeded to guide Marie carefully to the end of the stone platform near the water and helped her cast the fishing line into a good spot, then instructing her to wait for the feeling of a good tug…

After a while of waiting for the moment to come, the three teens watched the fishing bobber sink quickly with Marie almost falling into the water by a powerful tug of an unseen fish…

The two manage to catch the hipster girl from dipping into the river with the fighting fish and cheered her on to reel it in with all her strength…

The splashes of water were pretty intense and unpredictable but Marie's grip on the fishing rod was tight enough so the baited fish was merely tiring itself out over time… Marie then used up most of her physical strength to pull the caught fish out of the water.

After one last great splash in the river, the caught fish was finally out and Marie held onto the end of the line to see her catch in full view, the two teens behind her were on the edge of their seats to see what nice-sized fish Marie might show them given all that effort…

It was a nice-sized… Red… Goldfish! Marie looked quite satisfied with the results, she was even in awe of the cute little fish she caught, nevertheless both Yu and Yumiko were pretty nonplussed by the little Red Goldfish because they probably expected something you know… boss level. They all soon called it a day and went back home.

* * *

Author's notes: Boy this took a while since I've been job hunting, It was actually a lot shorter in my head than anything. Now I gotta work on the next chapter! Also I changed my story title a little by adding "the Golden" because I thought it was catchy or something. It's the name for the golden edition in Japan.

Update Note: Fixed some errors, "Priestess in the Dark" (Makoto x Akira short) has been officially released by my good friend, who now goes by "VinylSolution" on this site. I removed his story from here now that's he's a member. if you're into that kinda stuff, check out his story and tell him what you think!


	28. Chapter 28

The Flower Princess of Fujiyama x The High Priestess of the Amagi Inn - Chapter 28

{April 28, 2011} {Rainy}

[Samagawa Floodplains, Early Morning]

It was raining once again, Yu Narukami and numerous other students were heading down their usual path to Yasogami High. The grey-haired protagonist had his umbrella over his head to cover himself from the rainy day as he walked… Izanagi began speaking clearly into his mind.

"Another Tarot from the Thoth deck, what does thou make of this?" Izanagi asked for his user's thoughts on this matter as he closely inspected the two strange-looking cards inside Yu's mind/soul dimension place. (his own sea of soul)

"It's very strange for sure, both Marie and Yumiko are new people I met this time around… but we can't really be suspicious of them for just that… we'll have to wait and see for ourselves if things don't start to add up or make sense…" Yu spoke to his Persona as he envisioned the two girls in his thoughts, his expression on the outside remained unmoving as his eyes watched ahead, Izanagi spoke again.

"Thou told me that Philemon regarded them as pretty important in thy dream. We assume that Marie-san is certainly not human given her status as a resident of the Velvet Room, but what about Yumiko-san? How did she even come to know Marie-san very well before us…?" The Japanese God of Creation started questioning about that strange detail they learned yesterday…

"That's what I'm thinking of right now, it's weird. As far as I've seen, Yumiko seems like just a normal teenage girl apart from maybe looking a little too much like me in a girly way, and even if she's living with someone like Adachi, I don't sense any malice from her or that's she's in danger of being a victim, I'll have to find some way to speak with Adachi about why Yumiko is staying with him of all people. Next, I have to ask Margaret privately if Marie was truly born in the Velvet Room when the time comes…" Yu formulated for a plan of action himself to solve these oddities, Izanagi nodded and agreed with him. Suddenly, a fast approaching yet familiar voice calls out to the walking grey-haired transfer student, Yu stopped and turned his head slightly in surprise.

"Perfect timing! Sorry, move over!" A slightly drenched and frantic Chie came running to her friend's side and forced herself under his umbrella... the grey-haired boy took a moment to gaze at Chie as she was catching her breath from running most of the way to Yasogami, he couldn't remember this ever happening before, not he that minds it… she stood close to him under the umbrella, both Izanagi and Tomoe stood together as well behind their users… Chie spoke up after taking one last pant of air.

"Sorry, I did have my own, but I saw this Kung Fu movie where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves… and... I accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the movie…" Chie nervously explained to Yu, she was embarrassed to reveal that last detail to him, though Tomoe looked pretty entertained by that little accident that in particular.

"Master grows too excited sometimes when we're watching movies together, I personally thought she looked incredible with that umbrella stunt though…" Tomoe playfully told both the Wild Card and his Persona a little more about that, teasing Chie was a pass time of Tomoe's that she greatly missed.

"Wh-Why are telling him that Tomoe!?" Chie became mortified by her Persona adding more to her silly mistake… The woman warrior began patting the fidgeting back of her flustered Master whole-heartedly, Izanagi appeared amused by their own dynamic…

Yu was smiling at hearing that and chuckled a little at his female friend's misfortune in good fun. As Yu laughed, the blushing and embarrassed Chie retreated into her jacket's turtle collar to try and hide herself from her friend's face, Yu thought was endearing whenever she did that. The two were standing together under the umbrella, they were in the middle of the path as other students began passing around them as they continued walking. Both Yu and Chie noticed this and began walking together to school with Izanagi and Tomoe returning into their heads… The two of them began small talk for a brief time about trivial matters as they headed down Samagawa alongside many others… as they talked, Chie remembered something important she needed to mention.

"Oh, by the way! Yukiko told me that she'll be able to come to school again in two more days! Oh man, I'm glad. I'm so happy!" Chie expressed cheerfully to the tall boy next to her as they walked, Yu noticed the joyful smile on her face, she was visibly relieved to have Yukiko around again. The grey-haired boy knew in his heart that they couldn't have rescued Yukiko from the TV World without Chie's unyielding determination to save her.

"It's all thanks to you, Chie…" Yu genuinely told the energetic girl with a gentle tone of voice, his words of sincere gratitude had changed Chie's overjoyed expression into one of fluster from hearing them, the spunky girl began panicking in her mind of what to say in response… he was too kind.

"C-C'mon, you know it's because all three of us did our best. Actually, more like the three of us, and one animal-thingy...?" Chie told him rather shyly, she still had a flushed face while speaking. The two continued their route as the rain continued, albeit with a peacefully quiet air between them. Chie began thinking about her friend's kind words, she had a small smile to herself. Even if they just met a while back, there really was this sense of care for each other despite it. The usually spunky Chie perked up and noticed two gossiping girls from their school walking right behind them, playfully whispering to each other about stuff, they soon noticed Chie's glance toward them and made their own glances at Chie being close with the transfer student.

Chie began to panic inside about the possibility of new embarrassing rumors spreading at school about them being seen together like this… She didn't want to make Yu feel awkward around her and so she tried to come up with an excuse to leave in order to diffuse the situation.

Chie stopped walking with Yu stopping on the path as well, he looked at her in curiosity to see what was up as he held the umbrella over them… Chie began to feel uneasy on how to explain…

"Oh… U-Uhh… I-It's kinda awkward to only bring this up now, but… we're pretty close here… U-Um, I'm gonna just go ahead and run the rest of the way!" Chie hastily tooka couple steps out of the umbrella's cover and began walking into the rain, leaving her male friend's side. Yu didn't seem to mind if people saw them together at all, he didn't care much about school rumors either… she was important to him. Yu called out to her before she could run off completely.

"Don't worry about that, Chie. I honestly wouldn't want you to catch a cold if anything else…" Yu told her genuinely with visible concern in his eyes, Chie looked back at him with uncertainty in her eyes. She rethought for a moment about her decision. Does it really matter what people think if they saw a boy and girl share an umbrella? Guess maybe not, if they're just good friends after all! the short-haired girl gladly soon returned under the umbrella with the transfer student.

"Are you sure? Well, if you say it's okay then… I guess it's okay for me too. Thanks. Alright, let's go!" Chie expressed with renewed eagerness to not get drenched by the rain, they began walking together again while chatting more actively about stuff of interest as they reached near the end of the path to Yasogami. The two friends were now pretty much unconcerned about being too noticeable to the other students, they instead enjoyed their morning stroll while it continued pouring for the rest of the day.

* * *

[Amagi Residence AKA Yukiko's house of red things, Daytime]

The recuperating Yukiko in sleep wear sat calmly on a red colored pillow in her room, gazing slightly at the small red-colored table before her mindlessly for a moment, The Amagi girl then eyed over in the direction of the opened window…

Yukiko stared at the big empty bird's cage hanging over the window leading to the outside… even after having just a brief glimpse of her shadow's true form, she started wondering if "that" was how she really felt about inheriting her family's inn... as a bird trapped in a cage? She pondered these feelings deeply… until suddenly the sliding door to her room had opened, it was her "Persona" Konohana Sakuya holding tea prepared for the both of them. The feminine-looking persona came into the room and set the tea onto the small table, she then sat herself on the opposite end of her Yukiko-sama.

Konohana looked delighted that she's been reunited with her unusually beloved user… Yukiko wondered why she eager about this new lifestyle, but she could understand her Persona's feeling of joy all the same…

"Have you come to understand all of the things that I've told you, Yukiko-sama?" Konohana asked her still worn-out user as she gently set the tea onto the table and took a seat across from her…

"Sort of… You're saying you were that other me… my shadow in the pink princess dress, right? And now you're the strength of my heart?" Yukiko recalled some of the things she told by her Persona with her mind like she was taught to do, she then slowly took one of the tea cups and sipped it quietly…

"Yes, that is correct! I represent acceptance of your own true feelings and I'm the entity that'll protect you from all hardships you may face in life…" Konohana explained rather cheerfully to the tired Yukiko, the Amagi Girl began thinking about what happened recently…

"I just wish everything that happened wasn't so embarrassing though, Chie and the others witnessed my true feelings first hand… Oh man, it's going to be really awkward at school… UGH, I don't wanna go back…" The humiliated Yukiko suddenly faceplanted herself onto the small table with a thud in absolute cartoony misery, almost letting the tea spill from the impact of her head… She dreaded seeing Chie and the others and talking about what went down in that strange-looking world inside the TV, hot studs? What was she even thinking! Konohana was pretty startled by her display, the cherry blossom princess began to freak out about the possibility of Yukiko denying her own reality once again, she needed to act quickly before she reverts back to a shadow!

"Th-They're your friends Yukiko-sama, I'm very sure that they won't mind that at all!" Konohana tried her best to comfort the girl of the Amagi Inn. The gloomy-looking girl in the kimono lifted her head up to look at her Persona, her face was off the table…

"You're sure, Konohana? I'm worried what Chie may think. After seeing me like that… she always thought that I liked working at our Inn… that I took pride in it…" Yukiko uttered somberly to the princess as her sorrowful gaze went downward slightly, though the Persona of her soul had the answer she needed to hear…

"She's your dearest friend, is she not? I wouldn't worry if that was the case…" Konohana told Yukiko with absolute confidence in her voice, she then lifted her insect-like pink-colored helmet up slightly to reveal the lower portion of a human-like face that was hidden underneath… The Amagi girl looked on in both surprise and wonder at seeing her own persona's mouth was that of a normal human woman's… Yukiko couldn't see her whole face but she started speculating what Konohana Sakuya looked like with the helmet completely off… the Cherry Blossom Princess then took up her own tea from the table and gulped it whole… Yukiko was a little bewildered by that too… I mean it was still pretty hot right? Konohana then sighed in relief after drinking that refreshing tea she stole from the kitchen… She then adjusted her helmet to hide her face again….

"Okay, Enough of this doom and gloom Yukiko-sama! How about you ask some questions about me! Do you have some on your mind right now!?" Konohana told Yukiko with a cheery expression… the Amagi Girl pondered for a brief moment about what to ask…

"Well now that you mentioned it, I did wonder why you look like that…" Yukiko inquired to her pink-colored Persona, still curious of what Konohana's face looked like behind that mask of hers… was it her own face!? Or is it entirely different!? That's another mystery to solve!

"That's easy, I'm an accurate representation of your personality! Can you guess by just looking at me?" Konohana answered her user with a gleeful look in her eyes, she then extended her winged arms like a bird, the size of her wingspan almost reached both sides of the room…. Yukiko took a nice look at her Persona from head to toe…

"Huh, now that I think about it… I guess I'm more into Science Ninja Team Gatchaman than I thought, heh…" Yukiko began scratching the side of her head in slight embarrassment that she loved reading retro superhero manga during breaks at work… it wasn't very girly I suppose…

"…Wait what? You do mean Featherman R right, Yukiko-sama?" Konohana hadn't heard of that particular series ever existing before, she was baffled… the Persona caught Yukiko off guard with those words...

"O-Of course I did, Yes! …Still I do wonder why you're all pink though; I mean RED is my favorite color after all…" A teasing Yukiko remarked rather off-handedly to Konohana Sakuya as she gasped in over-exaggerated shock of her user saying such a thing…

"I-In your heart though, you're Feather Argus! Hmm!" An upset Konohana declared childishly to the Amagi girl, she pouted and turned away from her Yukiko-sama for her rude disparagement… Yukiko began snickering a little bit at her Persona's overreaction. Konohana had dearly missed Yukiko's sense of humor so she played along with the joke… the princess loved her laughing fits… ironically of course.

"I'm just kidding with you, Konohana… you're my own power right? …Please help me support my friends, I owe my life to them for saving me after all…" Yukiko told her Persona genuinely, she envisioned the dangers from monsters that her friends must had faced to rescue her… Konohana eagerly nodded at her request…

"I will do whatever I can for them and for you, Yukiko-sama!" Konohana professed to her user with this sense of fiery energy… Yukiko looked relieved even for just brief moment like this… Konohana spoke again…

"Well, you're about to return to school in a few days, so let's get going on your homework and class assignments that you've missed! I don't want you to do badly on your midterms!" Konohana cheerfully told Yukiko like an education mama… Yukiko pondered a little about something she said… Like all of it.

"Hold on, how does a Goddess of Mount Fuji already understand human concepts in the present…?" Yukiko was rather curious to know about that more then doing school work, she caught Konohana Sakuya really off guard with that questioning… you have to be careful with knowledge of the future you know…

"Oh… uh… N-Never mind that, Yukiko-sama! Enough questions! H-How about we study together, okay!?" Konohana quickly got up from her spot at the table and went over to Yukiko's closet to retrieve her school bag, and help her forgetIMEANstudy for her midterms! They're coming up after all!

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry this took a while, I've been working at my new job, though this was mostly done like three days ago, I thought to release this during the weekdays instead.

\- We enter the Meat Dimension in the very next chapter!


	29. Chapter 29

2011: A Meat Dimension (Part I) – Chapter 29

{April 29, 2011} {Rainy}

[Dojima Residence, Early Morning]

It was still severely raining outside Yu's room window in the morning… it didn't seem the rain will let up this morning or even later today, it'll probably continue until tomorrow. Izanagi diligently checked the calendar near the room's door while his user was dressing himself for the day… it seems to be the absolute perfect opportunity to complete the "challenge"! Yu eagerly got his dark-colored blazer on…

"It seems to be the holiday celebrating Emperor Showa's birth so thou has the day off from school…" Izanagi told the grey-haired boy while he continued gazing at the "freshly new" Persona 3 FES calendar for the next month of the year… May, it seems the one-sided reunion with Kanji is coming soon.

"I'm ready to take on the Mega Beef Bowl again… this time, I'll finish it all completely…probably." Yu utter to his persona, an overly cocky grin beginning to spread across his face in a sort of false bravado. However, his other self didn't seem to share in his sentiment…

"Really…? Are thou truly capable of entering the fabled Meat Dimension without fail like so many times before…?" Izanagi proceeded to fold his arms in an overly-serious manner, intentionally casting a cloud of skepticism on the Wild Card to see if his user's resolve was true in its expression… The Japanese God's doubtful expression in his look only managed to light up an intense fire in Yu's eyes…

"I'm very serious, Izanagi… I can do it this time, just believe in me…" Yu told the Persona firmly with determined eyes. Izanagi nodded in affirmation to him as he believed his user's resolve was true…

"I'm planning on inviting Chie and Yosuke to hang out at Aiya too… let's also make it a small celebration for our team saving the third victim… even if she can't be there herself…" Yu told Izanagi as he began recollecting with his friends at Junes earlier in April… also remembering how Yukiko will lose her fried tofu in a few days, He needed to restrain himself… but it's too delicious… that will be the next challenge after today…

The Fool thought he could treat the Investigation team into more awesome times since they all had to do the whole murder solving/TV exploring thing one more time, Yu took his mobile phone out from his pocket to call Yosuke. After a few rings, he picked up…

"Hey Partner! What's up?" Yosuke's voice was clearly heard on the other line… Izanagi stood by to listen in on the call with Yu…

"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out at Aiya today since they're having a rainy day special right now, mind asking Chie if she would like to come too…? Also as team leader, I'll pay for the both of you guys…" Yu offered to him, also hoping to see what the look on his face will be when they go see the size of the mega beef bowl… he couldn't help but feel Chie would be the proper rival to eat against…

"Sure! Oh and I'll call her on my break, though I think Chie will probably say "yes" to food if its free… I'm at work right now, but we can meet up later!" Yosuke responded gladly to his partner's invite, Yu could only picture the Junes boy just stacking butter in an aisle or something like that…

"Yeah… thanks Yosuke, I'll see you guys soon." Yu had a thankful tone in his voice…

"No problem… anyways, what's this all for?" Yosuke asked him out of curiosity, the greyed-haired smile slightly as the Junes boy inquired about it… Yu couldn't wait until then, he was way too pumped for this which is actually pretty unusual for someone whose always so calm all the time… but he made this special occasion an exception…

"Oh, I'll TELL you when all of us and our personas meet up there…" Yu answered with a very playful attitude… Jiraiya was in the background for Yosuke, the ninja frog could only think Yu-san was probably planning something weird for them to do…

"Heh Geez man, do you always got to keep me guessing about everything? Well, see ya later!" Yosuke expressed quickly to his partner as he needed to get work done for the afternoon, Yu's face lit up with an amused smile as he to end the call with Yosuke, the Fool was gonna have to explain about everything to him eventually at some point later…

"I wonder who else we can have join us since Yukiko-san is still recovering from the effects…" Izanagi pondered who'd be available on a rainy day, The Japanese God decided to go over the calendar again…

"Hmm… how about we ask Yumiko and Marie to join us? This will be a good chance to get to know them better and they'll be able to make easy friends with Yosuke and Chie…" Yu suggested to him, but then remembered that Marie could probably change the weather again so the Mega Beef Bowl Special would be totally gone. Maybe it was a little too risky to have her come out today… he'll try to see if that's the case with her later on…

"Well, thou doesn't have Yumiko's personal phone number… how will thou be able to reach her?" Izanagi curiously questioned his user, Yu quickly thought of one way to… but he didn't like the sound of it.

"I'll have to find Adachi's work number through the home phone's caller ID, it's still early morning so he probably hasn't gone to work yet, maybe he'll let me talk to her…" Yu uttered with little enthusiasm to speak to the TV killer… but he had no choice since he didn't know where they live.

"Hmm, Magatsu-Izanagi is a lot more lenient than his user, he's more likely to allow us to speak with Yumiko-san given what he told me…" Izanagi oddly mentioned this, seems he was friendlier with his seemingly evil counterpart than what Yu thought originally. The two headed down the stairs to the use the home phone…

* * *

[Adachi's apartment, Early Morning]

It was still raining heavily outside the apartment building, drops hit against the windows of Adachi's apartment noisily… despite this, Yumiko was still peacefully snoozing in the sparse guest bedroom. The Goddess wore a plain white t-shirt and bright red pajama pants with some adorable little "Protective Lexy Shadow" designs plastered all over them. Her bedsheets almost fully covered her as she slept till the morning…

After a short while, Yumiko opened her crimson-colored eyes slightly to the dimmed ceiling of her room. She slowly sat up from her bed and let out a yawn while stretching her arms out, Yumiko smiled slightly with half-shut eyes… that was a pretty good nap!

Yumiko then noticed that her feet weren't covered at all by her blanket… that's odd, she thought to herself. The drowsy-looking Yumiko proceeded to itch her lower back before getting out of bed… she then went over to the small bathroom located just right of her small wooden nightstand…

As The Goddess of the Bewildering Fog sluggishly walked, she started to have this strange sensation in her body that the carpet floor was a lot lower than she remembered, though she didn't pay too much attention to this after reaching the bathroom.

Yumiko carefully adjusted her tired-looking eyes for the unforgiving brightness to come, she quickly switched the lights on in the bathroom. As the lights began to brighten up, Yumiko noticed herself in the small mirror at the end of the bathroom… she looked a lot different from her "cute little sister moe" guise…

"Huh…? What the…!?" A surprised Yumiko uttered in her mind, she gazed down at herself in the brightly lit doorway. The Goddess realized that she had somehow grown much taller and slightly more developed in her chest and in her thighs… oh Mother of Messiah!

The grey-haired girl quickly rushed closer to the mirror in the bathroom to thoroughly examine her face in shock of this change, she was now more of a good-looking girl than an "overly cute" one like she was before… Yumiko wondered if Narukami and friends would notice such a change to her appearance… of course they would! How could anyone be that oblivious!? The Goddess thought erroneously of herself for thinking that…

Yumiko's whole body had inexplicably matured over the night; she was a first-year Yasogami student that now looked more like a second-year… just like Yu and his friends… Yumiko didn't know how to truly feel about all of this… What would Narukami-senpai think of this really jarring change? Was she at least still cute enough for him to notice her…? A small bit of anxiety began to crawl onto her thoughts, Yumiko then suddenly heard a couple of light knocks against her room door…

(Just Moments Before…)

During this morning shower, Adachi and his Persona Magatsu-Izanagi were both inside their ordinary-looking kitchen… The God of Calamity was in the middle of cooking some sunny-side up styled eggs on their stove while the girl slept soundly in the other room… Adachi sat groggily in his chair at the small round table inside the kitchen space near Magatsu-Izanagi's cooking. It was just another rainy day for work… suddenly Adachi's work phone rings in his pocket…

"Who's calling?" Magatsu-Izanagi asked curiously to his user Adachi without facing away from the well-cooked eggs inside the sliver pan on the stove… a black-colored toaster on the kitchen counter beside the house chef popped up toast…

"It's Dojima-san's house number, I thought he'd left for work already… I don't remember ever getting a phone call from him at this time…hmm…" Adachi grew kinda skeptical of this in his mind, he looked closely at the phone's ID, his cell kept ringing all the while…

"Well just answer it then, thou don't want to wake the girl up from her sleep now…" Magatsu-Izanagi told him casually without looking at his user as was he still waiting for the eggs to be completely ready for them to eat. Adachi gave a pretty dumbfounded look toward the God of Calamity as to why he cares so much for that girl anyway…

"Fine… Hello?" Adachi got into his chirpy idiot cop shtick as he expected that his partner Dojima-san was calling him for probably work-related reasons, he answered the phone call on speaker… it was someone very unexpected!

"Hey, May I speak to Yumiko for a moment? I would like to ask her about something…" Yu's voice was heard clearly on the other end, catching Adachi and his Persona somewhat by surprise. Adachi wondered what the hell this Narukami kid was planning…

"Can I ask what this is about, kid?" A distrustful-sounding Adachi uttered to the city boy on the phone, thinking if this "something" was about him and the murders…

"If you're wondering if this about you and the awful crimes you've committed, don't worry about that… for now at least. My friends and I will bring you to justice ourselves when the time comes… just like we did before…" Yu stated menacingly to the TV Killer, Adachi merely scoffed in response…

"You sure about that, Narukami? Aren't you worried about messing up your investigation? You know, just like last time…?" Adachi specified the whole predicament back to Yu like the conceited snake that he is, The Fool still questioned in his mind about what good it will do to have someone like Adachi to retain his memories like him. He'll just have to keep trusting Philemon on this… The Killer sure knew which buttons to press in order to shake the boy's nerve… even making him take a moment to pause and think…

"I have nothing more to say to you, can I speak with her or not…?" An impatient-sounding Yu completely disregarded Adachi's words and got straight to the point. The young detective maintained an almost "smug-like" smile on his face and casually handed his cell phone over to Magatsu-Izanagi, who was in the middle of laying his user's eggs and some brown-colored toast onto a platter in front of his user…

As Detective Adachi began eating his simple-looking breakfast with a very self-satisfied expression, his Reverse Persona headed to Yumiko's room with the phone in hand. On his way, Magatsu-Izanagi began wondering if that Wild Card-using city boy was the "special person" Yumiko was always talking about with him, then again the God of Calamity wasn't very surprised that it was probably Yu Narukami of all people. There really was this sort of "funny air" about that kid that attracted many people and personas to him after all, himself included!

(Back to the Present…)

The knocks on Yumiko's door continued without an answer as the girl panicked at the suddenness of it all, Yumiko scrambled around her room on what to do, she deliberated erratically for a moment about if Magatsu-Izanagi and Adachi would actually notice her sudden change in appearance…

"Hey Yumiko-san! There's someone calling for you!" Magatsu-Izanagi spoke clearly to her outside of the room. The God of Calamity continued to knock on it so the girl could wake up for a moment and open the door… Yumiko curiously wondered who was calling for her at this time, she cautiously walked to her door.

Yumiko took a small moment to breath before opening it just enough for Magatsu-Izanagi to hand over Adachi's phone to her… She made absolutely sure that the Persona couldn't see her in full view…

"You can just slide it over to me when you're done, okay kiddo?" Magatsu-Izanagi told the teenage girl in an almost fatherly kind of way as he started waiting by the door. Yumiko headed over to her bedside with the phone in her hand. As Yumiko sat down on her bed, she cautiously pressed Adachi's cell phone up to her ear to talk with whoever it was that called for her at this time in the early morning. She waited for them to say something…

"Hello, is this Yumiko…?" Narukami's curious-sounding voice was heard over the phone, causing Yumiko to jump in an almost pleasant surprise that her beloved second year senpai was calling her during the weekend. The greyed-haired Goddess took a moment to ready herself for whatever Narukami-senpai might ask or say, she then answered his question cheerfully…

"Yes this Yumiko! Is there something you need Narukami~senpai?" Yumiko eagerly expressed to him over the phone as she waited for his response… Yu was puzzled for a moment about something…

"Whoa Yumiko, is that you? You're sounding way more mature than I remember hehe…" Yu was rather amused and surprised that his Kohai was still trying to do the "cute moe girl" thing she always did with a more feminine yet delinquent-sounding voice. As Narukami spoke those words to her, the grey-haired Goddess was in complete stunned silence that her own voice had also changed over the night…

"O-Oh really!? I hadn't noticed much! H-Haha ha…!" Yumiko was shaky as she spoke with him over the phone. She started to panic on the inside about this change in her body most of all, Yumiko began thinking that she couldn't compete with the other cute girls now! All this effort and planning was all for nothing! She's doomed! As Yumiko began falling into despair inside her mind, her wonderful and kind Senpai picked her up…

"I was just wondering if you would like to come with me and my friends to Aiya today, if you don't know where that is… we should meet up somewhere and I'll take you… Oh that's right, you haven't said yes or no yet… hehe sorry that's my bad… so… would you like to go?" Yu politely asked his kohai, Yumiko couldn't believe his words… was Narukami-senpai asking her to spend time with him!?

"Oh really? Well I-I would love to spend time with you and your friends, Senpai! I just need some time to get myself ready for today. Aiya is that Chinese restaurant in the shopping district, right? I'll meet you there!" Yumiko still tried to sound adorable for Narukami but it was very strange to do with her matured delinquent girl-sounding voice, a sweat drop formed on Yumiko's forehead as she just realized that…

"Thanks Yumiko… Also by the way, that new voice of yours sounds pretty charming, I like it… Well, I'll see you soon!" Yu expressed rather honestly to his kohai with affection, he ended the call. Yumiko lowered the cell phone down beside her on the bed, a light blush began to manifest itself on her face after hearing his kindhearted words…

"Geez, Narukami really knows how to speak to a girl when she feels down, I honestly can't blame others for wanting him too… hm." Yumiko quietly uttered to herself, thinking about Yu like a blushing maiden madly in love… The Goddess soon gave the phone back to Magatsu-Izanagi and began to deliberate on what she should wear for today, most of her wardrobe probably won't fit too well with this new "more womanly" body of hers…

"Crap! What the hell can I wear!? Everything's too small now!" Yumiko frantically checked every piece of her clothing by the mirror in the corner of her room, a lot of her clothing was scattered on the floor outside of the opened closet… suddenly, Yumiko heard a deep voice from her door…

"Hey kiddo, Adachi and I are heading out for work… your breakfast is getting cold so make sure to eat soon!" Magatsu-Izanagi announced to her quickly, Yumiko heard him leave back into the main room of the apartment… she soon heard the sound of the front door shutting, they finally left. The Goddess was completely alone now… Yumiko felt sad that she couldn't give thanks to the corrupted Izanagi for telling her… but she shook it off and refocused herself with the task at hand.

"I can't leave like this, there has to be something here that still fits me good!" Yumiko quickly resumed her desperate search but it seemed hopeless… all of her clothes were either too big for her (The Moel Gas Station Attendant uniform) or too small (The Yasogami First Year uniform).

The Goddess was at the end of her wit, she soon gave up the search and headed toward the kitchen to eat her breakfast in gloom, I'm sure her senpai will understand that she couldn't make it… BUT THEN! Suddenly, Yumiko heard quick knocks at the front door…

Yumiko didn't know who it could be, she carefully got up from the kitchen table and moved toward the front. The Goddess looked inside the peephole on the door which she couldn't do with the short height she had before getting hit hard by puberty, there was nobody outside the door as she looked… Yumiko cautiously decided to open up a little to see more of her surroundings, there was absolutely nobody in the hallway… save for a suspicious-looking cardboard box right beneath her that said "Tanaka's special commodities!" on the sides of it.

Yumiko looked around the hallway and decided to take the box inside the apartment… she then placed it carefully on the living room table and opened it up, she found sets of clothes and shoes that are suitable for young women… and a case for a mobile flip phone in the side of the box… she gazed at the brand new-looking device in curiosity and picked it up from the stuff, there was a written note attached to it.

" _I see that you've been in trouble as of late, so I graciously provided you some things that will quickly alleviate you in dealing with this sudden and dramatic change in your appearance, which was very odd to observe by the way hmhm… The cell phone in particular was expensive for me to pay with my own money, so I ask of you to please take care of it… You'll be needing it from this day forth if you plan on getting close with the Wild Card and his World."_

 _"P.S. If you're still wondering, my sole reasoning for helping you at this short notice is merely part of our deal, don't forget it…"_

The penmanship of the note was very classy for Yumiko's tastes… though she smiled cheerfully, she was very grateful for the assistance from her own secret and mysterious contractor…

Yumiko then hastily took the cardboard box to her bedroom and tried out some of the "new" clothes to see what looks good on her… she soon found a winning outfit for senpai! A nice and simple white-colored sweater with a checkered-pattern skirt and in addition to that, some attractive black thigh-high socks to boot… Yumiko looked at herself admirably in the mirror… she remembered something…

"Even with these good-fitting clothes on me, I'm still gonna have to reorder another size in uniform for school…" Yumiko sadly uttered in her mind, seeing her smaller-sized Yasogami uniform just hanging inside her closet… After eating the eggs Magatsu prepared, She soon made her way out the apartment building with a black-colored umbrella to meet with Narukami and friends…

Author's Notes: This chapter is too long so it's in separate parts because I don't want to cut stuff from the funny bits I want to do.

\- Yumiko's mysterious benefactor is... a mystery! Her "Winter outfit" at the end was inspired a little bit by some fanart I found.

-Emperor Showa is most commonly known as "Hirohito" in the United States and the World.

What's Next: Yu vs Chie meat battle royal will take a weird bizarre trip...

Other Notes:

\- I 100% Persona 5 over the weekend! All the trophies, fully completed persona compendium, ultimate weapons and best armor with good accessories, every party member is at max level with all their great skills (including Goro). So probably expect a "non-spoiler" Omake review of P5 with Minato and Minako. (its just basically my personal thoughts on the game told by these characters in the dorm!)

\- BlazeBlue Cross Tag Battle, where you can finally have our boy Yu Narukami vs Ruby Rose from RWBY. (Which Me and Amouren are fans of, to an extent...)


	30. Chapter 30

2011: A Meat Dimension (Part II) – Chapter 30

{April 29, 2011} {Rainy}

[Central Shopping District South, Daytime]

Yumiko waited patiently outside of Moel with her umbrella, she watched the rain come down all around her, it still continued to pour heavily over the small country town… The Goddess always found this type of weather to be a pretty soothing time for her to think clearly about many things of interest, the sounds of rainfall were calming and relaxing compared to the much "busier and nosier" days that was brought with sunshine… unlike most, Yumiko enjoyed the rainy days of the year… though these special times for her were tainted by awful actions… The Goddess realized that Adachi was just a childish murderer who used the fog along with humanities' desires like a toy and tricked Nametame in order to continue this "game" of cat and mouse…

Yumiko greatly pitied the disgraced delivery man that just wanted to save his beloved, his sadness for losing his lover reminded her of Izanagi with how he felt with her own death long ago… Yumiko mentally kicked herself for foolishly believing Adachi's influence was what humanity desires were… oblivion. Back then, the Goddess thought she had no choice but to fight for those desires to be granted since it was what humanity desired for itself… But after thinking more of her grand defeat as **Ameno-Sagiri** , Yumiko almost felt a sense of joy with Yu Narukami's victory over Adachi's " **corrupted** " desires… The Goddess was interested in his potential because it developed into something unique in her eyes, a single will that can equal the **World** … "Yumiko" had taunted Yu in his dreams to find **this truth** in the beginning and yet… The grey-haired boy almost managed to reach the true end of his journey as the Fool. She pondered to herself in silence, does humanity really desire **Hope** after all? Maybe It's still too early to tell…

Yumiko soon noticed a public transit bus pull up at the stop on the intersection of the Central Shopping District, the head lights faintly illuminated the rainfall in its path. The grey-haired girl looked on at the bus with great anticipation that it was her tall and handsome Senpai coming out this time… The doors opened up, letting several people onto the sidewalk opposite to Moel's where she was waiting… Among the group getting off at the shopping district, Yumiko recognized Yu Narukami in his everyday attire carefully stepping off, she softly smiled that he had finally arrived. The grey-haired boy quickly opened his transparent umbrella so he wouldn't get doused, the bus soon took off into the rain again. Yu then noticed Yumiko standing by herself on the opposite side of the road near Moel, she was smiling at him. Yu began to smile in return and proceeded to eagerly wave at her. Yumiko embarrassingly waved back from her spot, the girl was still pretty nervous about coming out with her new look… Yu approached her with his umbrella and a cheerful look on his face…

"Wow Yumiko, is that you? It's only been two days since we last saw each other and you've grown quite a bit hehe…" Yu curiously observed his Kohai's almost drastic change of appearance as she awkwardly scoffed at his remark, Yumiko had matured so quickly that she could even be the tallest female student at Yasogami High… Height difference: Yumiko (170cm) – Yu (180cm)

"Y-Yeah? Well, puberty can sometimes hit you hard when you least expect it, Narukami-senpai!" A red-faced Yumiko shot back at the second year boy with an overly aggressive tone akin to that of a female delinquent… Yu lightly chuckled to himself, her attitude had also changed a lot too. The grey-haired boy admitted in his mind that he finds her more charming this way, it just comes off as more genuine… Yu didn't want to make her too angry, so he proceeded to show some affection to his Kohai to calm her down a bit. Yu laid his hand gently on Yumiko's head, she jumped a little in surprise at the very moment he touched her. The affectionate second year transfer student began to lightly rub the girl's head with tender care… Yumiko's body froze up at the suddenness of it all… Slowly, the grey-haired girl started to ease herself after a while of feeling his hand moving through her hair. Senpai's fingers were so soft and gentle to her. As the two quietly stood together during the cold rain, Yumiko's mind soon went into a peaceful state of bliss… this was almost like the old times with Izanagi.

"I'm just teasing, Yumiko… So, are you ready to go? My friends texted me that they're waiting at the restaurant on the Northside…" Yu mentioned to the flustered girl with enthusiasm in his voice, it seemed he was really excited about this hang out for some particular reason… As the Second Year had soon finished his tender massage of her head, Yumiko suddenly came out of her blissful state of mind at the very moment he stopped. She didn't feel full satisfied because she felt that the tender moment they were having was way too short for her liking, Yumiko nearly protested out loud for him to keep going…

"Y-Yeah, Okay…" Yumiko uttered quietly to her Senpai as began taking a few steps on the way to Aiya, she was pretty bitter about their sweet private time together had ended way too quickly… Yumiko was completely red in the face again, this time it was for a much more different reason… girls in this game tend to blush a lot! The two friends began strolling together with both of their umbrellas to Aiya on the Northside of the Shopping District…

The two continued walking in the rain… as they passed the bookstore, Yu noticed the floating Velvet Door unseen by common people between the store and Daidara's weapon shop. The Fool wondered if that "unfriendly but also weirdly dorkish girl" might want to join them in going to the meat dimension… Yu decided that he should at least ask her, But Yumiko was with him… it might be bad if he suddenly vanished in front of her eyes for spilt second…

"Hey Yumiko, do you mind going up ahead by yourself? Don't worry, I'll catch up quick…" Yu stopped himself from walking and turned toward his Kohai, who also stopped in surprise…

"Hmm? This is pretty sudden of you Senpai… Need to finish something around here before we meet up with your friends?" Yumiko curiously questioned the rather tall city boy, Narukami had already prepared an excuse to tell her.

"Yeah, I need to get a new book to read in my room…" Yu told the girl with a convincing tone, though Yumiko still looked kinda skeptical about it… she probed for more…

"Oh! What book…?" Yumiko asked, tilting her head slightly in question…

"The Great Man, I forgot to get it when it released…" Yu stated, still keeping a somewhat convincing tone… though Yumiko looked really surprised by his answer…

"I didn't take you for someone that needed books to become manly, I mean… you already are! Right!?" Yumiko complimented her Senpai with a cheerful smile on her face, catching Narukami somewhat off guard…

"Oh uh, thanks! But it's mostly because I like to read in my spare time…" Yu felt kinda nervous of how to feel about her statement, though he did appreciate that she could notice such small things like that…

"Hmm… well, I'll just wait by the entrance for you… I-I'm a little shy to meet your friends by myself…" Yumiko seemed nervous, she looked away from Yu's face and held her cheek in anxiety of her thoughts… Yu Narukami's Big Bro instincts active!

"I won't be too long… we'll have a good time at Aiya…" Yu told his uneasy kohai with a reassuring tone, Yumiko's face lit up at his efforts to make her feel better and quickly nodded in agreement. She continued walking her way to Aiya, leaving Yu's sight completely. He looked behind himself toward the direction of the glowing Velvet door… he soon went inside to meet with the residents…

* * *

{-Velvet Room-}

The Fool entered the legendary and enigmatic room between the dream and reality, mind and matter. It was the usual set up, Igor sat between Margaret and Marie of his fog traveling limo… Narukami gazed over at Marie as if he was gonna ask for a request from her. The hipster girl of the Aeon arcana looked pretty surprised that he was coming here… for her.

"Huh? You came? But I can't leave this room right now…" Marie remarked to the grey-haired boy across the cab of the limousine. Though with the face she made, it seemed that she really didn't understand why…

"Why's that?" Yu asked her, she simply shrugged her shoulders as she didn't know either.

"Apparently, I can't leave when my "existence is wavering." Pfft Whatever that means… I'll be waiting outside when I'm able to go out, so talk to me then, okay?" Marie stated with a pretty much carefree attitude despite what she said… Her puzzlingly words made Yu slightly troubled in his mind, it didn't sound like a good thing at all… even Izanagi grew a little worried of the implications. Yu decided to shelve his thoughts about that for later, he didn't let the worried feeling show on his face throughout…

"I understand, guess I'll come back sometime…" Yu told Marie with a slight smile, as he was about to leave the Velvet room… something particular came across his mind…

"By the way, how do you know Yumiko Shirasagi?" Yu asked the hipster-looking girl with curiosity about that… Marie looked at him with surprise that he seems to take an interest in the fact.

"That weird girl? I met her a while back, I guess it was before you came to this town…" Marie answered honestly, Yu began thinking shortly but made a smile to her…

"It just seems you two are kinda like good friends from what I've seen…" Yu had a playfully tone which made Marie huff in response, the other residents of the Velvet Room quietly observed them while they talked.

"Like friends" huh… I honestly didn't look at it that way until you introduced me to your own "friend" when you escorted me around the other day… what was his name… Josuke? Anyways, even if that girl does annoy me sometimes. I guess having her around me really isn't so bad…" Marie's tone seemed nonchalant but she had a small smile on her face, her expression made Yu think about how close they really are, Izanagi chimed in at that moment…

"It seems those girls care very much for each other despite only meeting a short while ago, it actually reminds me of Chie and Yukiko-san a little…" Izanagi stated within the grey-haired boy's mind.

"Huh, Is that without the subtext…?" Yu remarked playfully about the "idea" that maybe his two closest female friends could be mistaken for something else, given their closeness…

"Oh, we'll wait and see about that… but we should get moving right now, we don't want to let Yumiko-san wait out in the rain for too long…" Izanagi passively acknowledged the fact that Chie and Yukiko were maybe too close with each other and reminded Yu of his other duty…

"Well, I'll see you guys later on! Oh! And thanks for speaking with me, Marie! I really appreciate it a lot!" Yu quickly nodded to all the residents of the Velvet Room and its Master… Marie was left a little confused as to why Yu thanked her for just saying a few words as he quickly left the Velvet Room back to reality, Margaret began smiling about something… Marie began to gaze at the blonde Velvet Room Attendant with a big "?" rolling over her head…

* * *

[Aiya - Central Shopping District, Daytime]

Sitting by the Aiya owner's counter while waiting for their companion and team leader, the two friends and their Personas talked amongst themselves…

"Man, I kinda curious as to why he asked us both to hang out… what do you think, Chie?" Yosuke asked in the stool next to the spunky and meat-loving girl…

"I don't know; I think Yu-kun just wants to celebrate our first time saving someone as the Investigation Team… Oh! I CAN'T WAIT! Where's Yu-kun!? Delicious meat's being cooked in front of my eyes and I can't have any of it yet!" Chie anxiously exclaimed loudly while not trying to salve the meat being cooked thoroughly on the grill by the Aiya owner, Yosuke let out a slight sigh at her behavior. A floating Tomoe stood behind the spunky dragon…

"P-Please be patient, Master. I'm sure he'll be coming through the door any time now…" Tomoe tried her best to ease her awfully energetic user while Jiraya leaned against the wall behind them… Yosuke looked behind toward the yellow-cladded warrior.

"Huh, you know for being Chie's Persona, I find it really weird that you definitely seem more calm and mannered than her…" Yosuke remarked rather off-handedly in his mind, though the Junes boy honestly didn't really mean to…

"What!? You wanna say that again!?" Chie jumped at Yosuke's words in annoyance, Tomoe laid a hand on the girl's shoulder to stop any harm coming to the boy's way, Tomoe spoke passively to Yosuke…

"I assure you Yosuke-san, angering my Master isn't a very bright idea… ESPECIALLY when I do whatever she commands as her other self…" Tomoe then cheerfully brandished her white-hot nagata to show the boy that she meant business when insulting her Master, Yosuke gazed at her heated weapon and grew a sweat drop in nervousness, he eyed over to his Ninja frog for protection…

"Yosuke, I have your back man but I don't wanna get involved in battles that could be avoided entirely…" Jiraya simply shrugged as he had a good point…

"Yeah, I get it, you're scared too huh…" Yosuke mockingly remarked at him, Jiraya scoffed in response…

"I ain't scared of Tomoe…" Jiraya spoke rather quietly, Tomoe began observing at him with a "That so?" expression, Jiraiya eyed the woman warrior for a second and then suddenly recalled the past timeline, seeing Tomoe as Suzuka Gongen rendering a large and powerful shadow into complete dust with God's Hand, Jiraiya began looking away slightly after that… Tomoe herself began looking around to see everyone's tense faces, Yu-kun and Izanagi wouldn't want the mood of the evening to be ruined by petty squabbles… So, the woman warrior decided to diffuse the situation the best she knew how… teasing her master…

"By the way Yosuke-san, your observations of me are indeed correct!" Tomoe remarked almost outta nowhere, both Yosuke, Chie, and Jiraya looked at her in slight surprise… the Junes boy began looking toward Chie with an amused smile with the spunky girl growing red in embarrassment…

"T-Tomoe! You traitor!" A red-faced Chie called out her persona who was visibly joyful of her success…

"That being said, Jiraiya knows how to keep his mouth shut, isn't that right Master?" Tomoe remarked to the upset Chie, her embarrassed expression had quickly subsided… she thought for a moment and agreed.

"Yeah, Jiraiya… you don't seem as bad as Yosuke so I guess that makes you okay in my eyes!" Chie cheerfully remarked with Yosuke wincing at her words…

"Hehe, thanks Chie-san…" Jiraya snickered in the direction of his own user, who scoffed at the teasing…

"Whatever, where the hell is that guy anyways…" Yosuke uttered bitterly as he wanted this moment to end with Yu's appearance, soon the group hears the small chime bell of the door ring as two figures entered the Aiya restaurant… It was Yu! With someone familiar-looking too!?

"Hey, sorry for keep you all…" Yu expressed his sitting friends with a smile and his closed umbrella was at his side. A curious-looking Yumiko just behind him. Both Yosuke and Chie had "?" rolling on their heads as to who was with their leader… until the two came into their own realization…

"Uh, hey Partner! Who's-wait… is that Yumiko-chan?" Yosuke remarked to his partner while getting off his seat but recognized the cute freshman girl… who was now insanely hot OMG! The Junes boy decided to musk his interest to not ruin his positive image she has of him. Yumiko noticed Yosuke's familiar voice, her eyes widen in surprise…

"Oh! Hello Hanamura-senpai! I didn't know you knew were friends with each other!" Yumiko cheerfully waved at her other male senpai, Yu grew curious of something…

"Yumiko, how did you come to know Yosuke…?" The grey-haired boy inquired to the girl, Yumiko turned toward her beloved senpai in response…

"Oh he helped me to class on my first day, isn't he a nice guy!?" The grey-haired girl cheerfully remarked to Narukami, Yosuke itched the side of his face in a flush…

"Wait, Yumiko-chan…?" Chie stated in curiosity, she also got off her own seat to meet the younger girl.

"Ohh Satonaka-senpai, you too! Man it sure is a small town huh?" Yumiko took a few steps to the short-haired girl. The grey-haired girl grew amused of something in her expression, Chie was puzzled by what it was…

"Hehe oh my, I didn't realize how short you really were senpai…" Yumiko giggled to herself as she looked down to her savior who was quite shorter than her now, I guess growth varies as it hits everyone...

Chie then noticed that Yumiko was "pretty developed" in her feminine charms, the short-haired girl grew envious as she looked at herself in comparison… Height Difference: Chie: (158 cm) – Yumiko: (170 cm), Yosuke also looked and felt pretty emasculated since a girl who was WAY shorter than him before had somehow grew effortlessly close to his own height… Yosuke: (175 cm)

"What? How do you know Chie, Yumiko-chan?" Yosuke asked Yumiko with piqued interest while Yu listened in on her encounter with the spunky girl, wondering if they at least got along with eachother…

"She protected me from an aggressive ruffian once while I was heading home by myself, she's so brave!" Yumiko exclaimed to the two boys in gratefulness to her Tomboyish senpai for that spectacular save dive kick, also taking a cheap shot at Nyarthalotep too. As she listened to Yumiko's words, Chie began rubbing her head in flattery of her heroic act.

"What about you man, how did you two meet…?" Yosuke asked his partner the same question that has been going around.

"It was at a family gathering… though, we aren't family. I decided to bring her along today since I was appointed responsibility to look after her by my uncle a while ago…" Yu explained to his friends with a nonchalant tone, both Chie and Yosuke thought about it while Yumiko's face seemed miffed at her Senpai's words and attitude toward their time together, What a Lier! Ironically too!

"Huh wow, I never would have thought. Yumiko-chan does kinda look like your long-lost twin sister or something…" Yosuke remarked with interest as he looked between the two twins… Chie agreed with the Junes Boy too now that she thought about it… Yu wondered about that most, but suddenly!

"Oh Come on Narukami-senpai! You're not gonna say how much you enjoy our time together~?" A flirtatious Yumiko wrapped her arms around his right one and pressed it against her chest… Both Chie and Yosuke looked surprise by the grey-haired girl's display of affection and that Yu hiding more than what he said… The Leader began to feel nervous as Yumiko began to playfully nestle her face against his right arm as the two friends looked on, one with envy and the other with skepticism…

"W-What!?" Yu exclaimed in unease as he looked at the haughty girl below him, surprisingly beginning to lose his usually cool composure as he noticed Chie's expression was that of suspicion… Their Personas looked on from the sidelines at the awkwardness of the situation, but they seemed to ponder about this "Yumiko" girl… believing they were unseen by her own eyes…

"She seems very familiar to me for some odd reason…" Tomoe remarked as she looked at the smiling grey-haired girl in wonder about her. There's definitely something weird going on with her…

"Well, given Chie's reaction to that girl, you probably encountered her recently…" Izanagi stated with his own answer about her curiosities, Tomoe thought a little more of this feeling she was having around this girl… the frog ninja chimed in.

"Yeah, I can't remember my encounter either. I tend to doze off when I'm in Yosuke's mind a lot…" Jiraiya spoke with honesty since school's been the same old thing, but the woman warrior shook her head in response to them...

"That's not what I mean, I feel very odd around her… it's almost uncanny to me…" Tomoe looked at the two with serious eyes, they both seemed surprised by her sudden mood change. They agreed to continue this conversation when Konohana rejoins them… for now, they decided to just look at what's happening with their users and the girl…

"Well enough chitchat guys, let's get ordering!" Yu stated out loud and broke away from Yumiko's grasp, trying to quickly end the group's conversation of scandalous allegations, the grey-haired boy quickly took a seat by the Aiya owner, Chie took the stool next to him on the left side with Yumiko hastily taking the chair on his other side, Yu was between the two girls and felt the air of awkwardness continue on. Yosuke found himself way to the side of the counter, somehow feeling like the fourth wheel.

"What are you having, Yu-kun?" Chie asked the grey-haired boy next to her out of curiosity of what he wanted, Yu began to smile.

"Oh I don't know; the Mega Beef Bowl looks good…" Yu stated to her with upmost interest, Chie's eyebrow was raised by his casual response, who does he think he is!?

"Whoa seriously? That dish is loaded to the gills! Now there's a dish that really puts your love of meat to the test. If You want to try it out, take the chance! Meat's the perfect meal for a rainy day…" Chie stated with cheerfulness in her expression, seeing if he'll back down from that colossal challenge with some "extra" push.

"We never really had shops like this in Tokyo it's a nice change of pace honestly… and besides I could never turn down a good steak…" Yu said, eagerly looking at the menu above his bar stool…

"Ooh, you know the majesty of meat too!? Haha, I bet you and I can enjoy some of the Mega Beef Bowls together!" Chie said giving Yu a sly grin. Seeing this challenge as Hope to get back at the grey-haired boy for his unbridled flirting a few days before… Unfortunately, it didn't work and he just agreed…

"But the Mega Beef Bowl's a pretty serious challenge. Even someone like me might have trouble. If you really plan to take it on, you have to still your mind and just shovel it down your throat!" Chie added to deter him from choosing that…

"Sounds like your just not trying hard enough Ms. Chie, I bet I could get farther than you. Hell, I might finish it on my first try!" Yu declared shooting the grin back at her…

"Is that a challenge?" Chie responded with some pretty intense fire in her eyes, the other friends began to see this whole thing escalate, Jiraiya sighed as he saw something dumb like this coming from a mile away…

"Perhaps…" Yu continued his playfulness with Chie. Behind them, Tomoe inspected Izanagi's form who remained as cool as his user, Tomoe began to cheer on her user with Izanagi doing the same as well. Yumiko didn't really understand what was going on between her two senpai, what's so special about eating this bowl anyway…? She was about to find out!

"Two Mega Beef Bowls Please!" Yu declared to the Aiya owner behind the counter, laying out 6000 yen for the both of them… the cook quickly got to work on their meals, Yumiko and Yosuke were so baffled by what was happening…

"Ummm, Hanamura-Senpai…" Yumiko began speaking to the upperclassman who was just watching this all play out too.

"Yes, Yumiko-Chan?" Yosuke knew what she was going to ask, but really couldn't answer with certainty. both Chie and Yu exchanged glares at each other as Two MASSIVE-SIZED bowls were placed before them…

"What's happening…?" Yumiko asked the Junes boy off to the side of them, they overhear loud snaps of fresh chopsticks being broken apart by the two meat lovers…

"I don't know. either their gonna have an eating contest or just start making out in the middle of Aiya over some mutual love of steak… either way I'm scared." Yosuke remarked while trying not to think about how messy their eating might get…

"Huh… wait, make out!?" Yumiko commented in anger as she watched Chie and Yu carefully begin indulging into the large bowls, suddenly they begin to pick up the pace of their eating, it became so fast that their hands and mouth began to blur out due to how quickly they were going, small amounts of meat juice began flying all over the place… Yumiko could not believe what she was seeing, she even thought it was a divine power… Yu was eating away at the bowl, devouring the meat on top first before getting deep with the rice but Chie on the other hand had already finished the top of the bowl and went straight for the meat hidden under the rice…

"Wh-What the heck? This girl… is she even human? How can a mortal just scarf something of that size so quickly!? Wait, maybe she might some sort of food goddess in disguise… Uke Mochi?" Yumiko uttered to herself, thinking about the young food goddess that she remembered long ago… Chie was halfway, Yu still couldn't see the rice… he begins to suspect that the bowl was slowly becoming the portal to the Meat Dimension. The amount of meat contained within this bowl is truly staggering. In order to finish this bowl, he must have Understanding to his limits, Knowledge to Control the pace, Courage to face this unrelenting tide of beef, and the Diligence to persevere against this very colossal challenge… All these traits are necessary to master the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge! …However, Yu felt confident that he will finish it!

Suddenly, a bright white flash began to shine from his and Chie's bowls, the light began to absorb the surroundings of Aiya… and even reality itself, Yu and Chie's body began to condense into the small but really bright light of the bowl. Were they about to reach THE LEGENDARY MEAT DIMENSION!? When the light cleared, Yu and Chie were falling into a mysterious wormhole…

"Wooaaaahhhhhh!" Yu screamed as he rocketed through… well, he didn't exactly know what. Whatever had just happened with those damned beef bowls had sent him and Chie into a strange channel between realities? Yeah that seemed like the best word to describe it… the feeling was not unlike the sensation he got when they traveled back and forth between the world inside the TV and the real world so he felt some comfort in that… The grey-haired Wild Card glanced behind him to see Chie tumbling not too far behind, all be it more panicked and erratic… Without thinking, Yu did his best to slow himself down enough so that the distance between the two of them, the last thing he wanted was for the love of his life to get flung into some random meat filled dimension… actually she probably wouldn't mind that. But that wasn't the point better to stick together than be separated.

"Chie!" Yu shouted over the odd humming of dimensional noise… her deep brown eyes locked with his in response… He outstretched his hand and without needing to say anything, Chie grabbed out to his extended hand… as they both looked ahead to the swirling and fluxing light at the end of this tunnel…

* * *

 **[Dimensional Sector Remnant:sub section 013982343;Bloodmoon, Night Time] [credited to Amouren]**

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain coming down in a heavy downpour as lightning danced across the sky and thunder rolled through the clouds above the home of two sisters currently curled up in the family living room, eyes fixated on their television...both with mixed reactions.

"AHHH! GOD! IT BURNS! Someone help me!" The TV screamed as the character on screen began a monstrous and beastly transformation.

"AHHH! YAAANNGGG! you said this wasn't a horror movie!" the younger red haired sister cried, curled on the couch, hands covering her eyes or at least trying to as her silver colored eyes peeked through the cracks in her fingers at the carnage unfolding on screen.

"It's not, it's a horror comedy… did I forget to mention the first bit?" Her older sister Yang said, grinning like a maniac at her baby sister's reactions to an absolute classic. "And besides you already saw one guy die in the beginning remember?" The blonde continued un-phased by the movie's events. After all 'A Valeien WereGrimm in Atlas' was a classic, probably David Reeves's best movie aside from 'Tom Wick'… yeah, throwing in that bland product placement!

"Yeah b-but still…"Ruby whimpered in slight fear…

"And Besides, I'm leaving for Beacon in like a week so we won't be able to do this as often any more. And you chose the movie last time so this week was my turn…" The buxom blonde said with upmost pride…

Another flash of lightning shot across the sky as the television's screen flickered rapidly before cutting to a loud and obnoxious static. As the lights in the house began to flicker rapidly.

"Ummm Yang… please tell me that this is just dad playing a prank on us." Ruby said not convinced with her own words. The TV's static slowly beginning to increase in volume and intensity.

"I don't think it is? I mean he said he had stuff to do in Vale so pretty sure he's still there. Probably just the storm messing with the signal. Damn and it was just getting good too."

The TV static began to grow louder and louder as what sounded like shouting began slowly getting louder and louder and louder. While the screen began to warp and flux like the screen itself had just been turned to some sort of liquid. And after thirty seconds the sisters watched in silence as a hand slowly began to emerge from the TV screen.

"Yaaaannggg! If this is a joke it isn't funny anymore!" Ruby began to think of somewhere to hide close by…

"Agreed…" Yang readied herself with whatever was coming their way…

Slowly with the hand, came an arm, and with the arm came a pair of...teenagers? As two people who looked around Yang's age came tumbling out of the screen and crashing on their living room floor. The boy ran a hand through his sliver hair rubbing the back of his head, his other hand was linked with a girl with light brown hair and wearing a green track jacket. Both had a slightly panicked and confused look in their eyes as they stared at the two sisters…

For a good minute there was silence… Before the short-haired girl in the green jacket decided to say something, unfortunately she must have hit her head because what came out sounded like complete and udder gibberish. At least to the sisters…

"Watashitachi wa dokodesu ka? Watashi wa terebi no sekai no yō ni wa mienaiga, mada sore o imi shimasu." She said her eyes darting around the room as if looking for something…

"Nē! Tomoe! Doko ni imasu ka?" She continued to look around and visibly think, still on the carpet of a well-furnished home… The tall boy who was with the girl looked toward her and responded back in the same language… great they both talked like that. Before they both stood up and noticed the two girls staring at them stunned…

"Jama shite gomen'nasai…" The boy spoke first with a courteous bow for intruding into this seemingly normal world by accident… this isn't the meat dimension… what is this place?

"E e, watashitachiha tsūjō, terebi no gamen kara ochiru kuse o tsukemasen. Sukunakutomo, watashitachiha shinai yō ni shimasu. Anata ga kitai suru ijō ni ōku no koto ga okite iru yōdesu…" The girl in the green jacket finished quickly, both of the strangers looked curiously at the sisters… waiting for a response from them.

"Ahh, umm Hi?" Ruby said meekly hiding partially behind her sister… Her head peeking out looking at the strangers.

The two looked puzzled at her words and began rapidly speaking in whatever language they were speaking. And after a few minutes of this the girl's expression visibly flattened as a frown came across her face.

"Ah h-hello. Deepest apologizes for disturbing your evening…" The grey-haired mystery boy said in accented English…

"My name is Yu Narukami and this is… My companion Chie." He paused for a moment, seemed it was for a particular reason.

"Hi…? that's it? not gonna explain how and why you came through our TV like that!" Yang said speaking directly to the only one of the two who seemed to understand them.

"Yang. Be nice, I mean they introduced themselves... kinda…" The red haired girl said.

"The least we can do is return the favor, My Name is Ruby Rose nice to meet cha! the grumpy one is my sister Yang." The younger sister introduced themselves to the partial strangers…

"Grumpy!? I'm not grumpy they interrupted movie night and oh I dunno, crawled out of our TV!? Still waiting on an explanation…" Yang said crossing her arms, she didn't like acting like this but she couldn't help it, not right now two strangers falling out of TV's the whole thing seemed about as likely to be real as a Man-Grimm.

"It is a long, strange, story, you will not believe us even if we told you…" Yu assumed as he seemed to struggle to find the correct words…

"Try me." Yang said not giving away any ground…

"Ummm…" Yu began before the skeptical blonde-haired girl, Chie interrupted and then proceeded to butcher the English language in a way she had never heard before.

"Truth find Yu Cheese is telling phone TV Persona pineapple…" Chie spoke. Everyone present aside from Chie just stood in silence as the peppy brown haired girl waited for a response. convinced that whatever she was trying to say got through…

"Chie…" Yu said before leaning in to whisper something in her ear, causing the girl to flush a little of his closeness. Yang figured he was translating what she had just said, either that or he had to be the world's smoothest playboy given how beet red her face turned after he turned to the two young ladies…

"Sorry again, Chie's English, isn't the best I am… working on it." Yu said, squeezing her smaller hand a bit…

"Umm I guess not big deal, your girlfriend's bad English aside, care to explain now. please. Before I try and shove you back through the TV." Yang deadpanned gesturing to the pair's still joined hands. Chie may not have spoken English well but she seemed to have gotten the implication and blushed furiously while letting go and speaking rapidly, Yang didn't need to know the language to understand the meaning behind the words.

And in that moment the tough routine she had been putting up slowly began to break as she burst out into laughter at the green clad girl's reaction. Meanwhile both Yu and Ruby looked at her confused as to why she was laughing so much. Chie in response began speaking even faster and more erratic before turning to Yu and saying something to which Yu grinned and said.

"She's just shy about it is all." The grin on his face making his ruse obvious to everyone but Chie…

"But in all seriousness it is truly an unbelievable reason as to why we traveled through you TV. If you have the Time I will do my best to explain." Yu stated to them with a serious tone…

"Can you!?" Ruby said suddenly excited now that the mood had lighted a bit. "I'll get drinks!" She proclaimed as she zipped into kitchen and fetched a tray with four glasses and a pitcher of lemonade in less than 5 seconds, a massive and innocent smile adorning her face. Both newcomers stood in stunned silence at the sheer speed the young girl demonstrated.

"Actually maybe it won't seem so crazy after all" Yu said slowly.

"Yu Anata ga watashi ga mita mono o mita to itte kudasai!" Chie said shakily as Ruby placed a glass of lemonade in front of her as if it was normal.

"Hai." Yu responded politely…

Over the course of the next hour or so Yu did his best to explain the concept of what he and Chie called the "TV" world and something about shadows and personas. Sometimes Chie would try her best to contribute with the grey-haired boy cleaning up her sentences… Ruby seemed to be completely taken with the story asking all sorts of questions ranging from their powers to the town of Inaba where the two were apparently from. Yang found it extremely amusing to try and tease the two about their relationship, making the brown haired girl blush while her silver haired companion remained stoic with the occasional grin…

"So lemme get this straight, you can summon a god from your mind?" Yang said cocking her eyebrow with slight disbelief… it was a unique semblance for sure.

"Who? Izanagi? Yeah he's one of my personas, just for some reason he's not here... neither is Tomoe now that I think about it." Yu said looking around. At the mention of Tomoe and Izanagi Chie looked to Yu and said something in their language. With Yu responding in kind…

"Well as much fun as this has been I think Chie and I should be heading back now…or at least we should try…" Yu told the two sisters…

"Umm how? Through the TV…?" Ruby asked them.

"Hai!" Chie said understanding that much…

"Hopefully…" Yu told them as he and Chie walked over to the TV screen in the room…

"If everything works out we should be able to get home through here… actually Chie, Watashitachi wa doko ni tōjō suru to omoimasu ka?" Yu added, going back into their language. The short-haired girl began pondering.

"Umm…" Chie before putting her hand behind her head and chuckling nervously while shrugging.

"Well trial and error I guess. Thank you for your hospitality…" Yu spoke to the teenage girls once again with a slight bow, Chie doing the same… The two turned and placed their hands on the TV screen as they slowly melted away falling through fluxing screen. The lights began to flicker once more as the two dissipated from sight. The movie the sisters were watching resumed right where it left off before their guests arrived…

"Ruby…" Yang spoke.

"Yes Yang?" Ruby responded.

"Let's agree to not mention any of this to anyone, I don't feel like being called out as a lunatic…" Yang spoke with an exasperated tone… it's been a really crazy day, huh?

"Yeah, but they seemed nice…" Ruby commented even if she didn't understand the Japanese language…

"Yeah they were, that guy's got hell of a road ahead of him if that girl doesn't catch on quickly…"

"Hmm? what?" Ruby asked, she was innocently puzzled.

"You'll get it when your older…" Yang began to playfully ruffle her younger sister's hair…

* * *

[Central Shopping District, Evening]

The return trip home was much smoother than either of them had anticipated…. it wasn't as fast or erratic as the initial launch so the two were able to glide next to each other. Chie was the first to break the silence as she floated up to her grey-haired companion…

"So umm that was odd… I mean weirder than finding a talking bear…" Chie remarked as they both fell deeper into the strange warm hole…

"No kidding. I mean I kinda figured alternate realities were a thing but that was something out of an American Comic or a JUMP mag…" Yu stated with a curious feeling in his voice, his eyes began to lock with hers as they warped…

"I know right… kinda sucks though they only spoke English, they seemed nice…" Chie spoke with an almost sad expression, she really wondered what they said, especially about the two of them…

"Well it wouldn't be a problem if you studied English a bit more…" Yu remarked to the spunky girl with a teasing expression…

"Oh, I'm sorry and we can't all be cool and composed AND speak with a tongue like yours, Yu-kun…" Chie huffed in response.

"Hey I wouldn't mind helping you study, well if you don't mind…" Yu stated to her passively without looking at her, Chie thought about it.

"Mmmmm, Yu-kun are you perhaps watching me during English class?" Chie remarked with a sly face to the grey-haired boy falling down the rabbit hole with her…

"No I'm just observant and I can help if you want me too…" Yu stated as a matter of fact, what's with the lying lately?

"Also I don't think we should tell people about this… then the others might think we're nuts… or ate too much steak which isn't possible!" Chie stated with conviction, still filled with energy even after that odd experience…

"Can't argue with that… Deal! And you better make good on the English lessons, Shakespeare…" Chie remarked while extending her hand out to him…

"I intend to…" Yu spoke while grabbing on and shaking it as the blinding light of the exit consumed them… Yu found himself snapping awake face first in the empty bowl of what was once steak, rice and noodles… wait, did he do it!? Her heard a familiar voice in his ear…

"Senpai! Are you okay!? I-I thought you were dead from too much meat…" A concerned Yumiko began hugging her Narukami-senpai's shoulder out of worry for her beloved, leaving her female senpai to her own devices… she began to snore a bit...

"Yeah, I was just about to call the ambulance! You guys were out for like 30 minutes!" Yosuke exclaimed with his phone in hand, somewhat shock that they didn't die from over eating…

The "really full" city boy curiously looked toward Chie asleep with her face still in the bowl. Both Izanagi and Tomoe looked into their user's bowls, both seeing Yu's was completely empty… and Chie had only a small piece of rice left, had The Fool beat the challenge!?

"I-I did it…" Yu struggled to believe that he actually finished the whole thing, the Aiya owner came to him from behind the counter.

"Aiyaaaa! I'm amazed you finished that entire thing! Since you ate it all, your meal is free! Aiyaaaa! You must be a student at Yasogami High! My daughter goes there too. She's out delivering food right now. She's my pride and joy! Not to mention a big draw for customers!" The Aiya owner remarked in surprise that the transfer kid from the city had beaten a frequent costumer of his. Whom he personally called **"Satonaka-chan, devourer of meat"** Jiraiya noticed one particular detail about what he said.

"Isn't the daughter the one who dropped us some food at the shrine…?" Jiraiya thought to himself about it, then again he never really remembered if the Aiya owner even had a daughter in the past timeline…

"VICTORY SCREECH!" Izanagi began howling in celebration of his user's long awaited accomplishment… Tomoe slumped to her knees in defeat, she realized that Yu was truly worthy to ascend such colossal heights and proved his own love for meat was one over all…

"P-Partner, why did you do this…? I really want to know the reason why you brought all of us out here today…" A concerned Yosuke approached his grey-haired leader who struggled to stay awake from eating too much, he had this small but satisfied smile on his face…

"I wanted my friends to see me in my greatest moment…" Yu uttered to Yosuke wit very sleepy-looking eyes, he shortly fell off his stool onto the floor of the Aiya restaurant, Yumiko gasped and began tending to him on the ground as Yosuke sighed in disbelief of it all. He and Yumiko made sure that both Chie and Yu got home safely…

… _Was it all just a dream?_

 _(Yeah it was!)_

* * *

Amouren's Note: (the lights flicker and static fills you screens as you hear a voice ring through you head) Greeting yes tis I once more the ever elusive editor/sometimes scene writer of RRM's Rabbit hole and Boy did i get a treat. since RRM let me take you down my rabbit hole with that crossover scene. And i can say its by far one of the strangest things ive ever written...fun...but strange. and for those of you who have checked out my work before. you might notice a few easter eggs in the scenes, but yeah we did this basically in celebration of RRM's story reaching a year old (Mine did too but that was like 2 weeks ago and I was on vacation so i couldn't post) as well as the announcement of Blazblue crosstag battle...probably gonna stick with my mains from BB and P4A (Noel and Chie)...kinda wanna learn how to play Yang and Ruby since they might fit my play style when it comes to fighters. But anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hey feel free to come and check out my work. leave a review or a question I'm doing a Q&A that closes on 8/31 so check it out. Anyway RRM back to you this is Amouren signing off.

Author's note: Hey guys, sorry this took a while! been working and getting things ready for fall college classes! This whole thing was a joint effort of Me and My editor, Amouren. We did this to celebrate the one-year anniversary of this fanfic, a small cross between Persona 4 and RWBY for that Cross Battle hype! though, I'm kinda sad to find out on Famitsu that the upcoming Dancing games will not have story modes :/ like what the heck! whatever, I gotta finish April before getting mad about anything else...


	31. Chapter 31

One enshrouded in Fog - Chapter 31

{April 29, 2011} {Rainy}

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

After saying goodbyes with both Yumiko and Yosuke (who was also carrying a silly-looking and sleepy Chie on his back…) Yu then headed down the road to the front door of the Dojima House all the while feeling pretty bloated and unwell from all meat he ate, and the weird trippy ass dream didn't help the feeling either. Izanagi decided to slide the front door open himself so his grey-haired user didn't have to…

"Man, I feel sick…" A nauseous Yu uttered to his Persona as he held his stomach gently with one hand, he walked into the living room of the Dojima Family, his uncle was sitting on the family couch watching the small television with Nanako by the table…

"With A good night's rest, thou should be back to normal tomorrow…" A transparent Izanagi patted Yu's back quickly before fading away into his mind so there wouldn't be any unnecessary disturbances. (like Nanako somehow sensing him)

"Oh, You're home." Dojima turned to face his nephew with a surprised expression but then notice that he seemed unwell in the face…

"Y-Yeah…" The grey-haired boy expressed to his uncle with an uneasy-looking smile, Dojima started to worry about the possible future.

"You okay…?" Dojima asked him with an eyebrow raised the kid looked like he was about hurl… and he didn't want to be the one that has to clean that mess.

"J-Just a small stomach ache, I ate too much with friends… Ugh…" Yu stated to Dojima and quickly took a seat at the living room table, he faced Nanako on the opposite side, she was still mindlessly watching the TV in the corner… his uncle began to worry about possible future incident and wanted to avoid it.

"Nanako, please make some tea for your cousin…" Dojima requested from his daughter with some slight urgency in his voice.

"Okay… are you alright?" Nanako turned her attention away from the TV to her older cousin with curiosity of what was wrong with him. In reaction to a bad sensation in his body, Yu quickly balled a fist to his mouth as he spoke…

"Not Really, But Th-Thank you…" Yu told Nanako while feeling pretty nauseous, the young girl of Justice quickly got up and headed into the kitchen, she whipped up some nice tea that would be pretty easy on Yu's stomach… after drinking Nanako's tea for a while, Yu started to feel better…

"She's a miracle worker, too bad thou cannot match Chie's endurance as much as her love for meat…" Izanagi stated in his user's mind, sounding pretty matter of fact.

"Good thing that I don't ever have to do that again…" Yu said to Izanagi in response, though the grey-haired Fool was still feeling pretty proud of himself for completing such a colossal challenge that daunted him for so long… the family including Izanagi began to watch TV together for a while… the weather comes on…

"Due to the weekend rainfall, clear skies seem unlikely in the area. A thick fog is expected to set in tonight and remain until tomorrow morning, with heaviest concentration in the Inaba area. Anyone planning to go out tonight should take care. Now for our hourly weather breakdown…" The Weather Announcer spoke…

"More fog, huh? There's been a lot of that lately. Hopefully it's not a sign of more trouble…" Dojima grimaced to himself, Yu knew all too well of the answer to that statement, he kept to himself… Nanako using the remote on the table and with the press of a single button, she quickly switched the weather channel on the screen to something of her liking…

"Ah-ah-ah. What did I say about changing the channel without asking?" Dojima stated firmly to Nanako about the rules of the house, she lowered her head in some slight guilt but the good ol' Junes comes on time… as always…

"Have a great day even during Golden Week at your local Junes! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!" The commercial jingle played, it then began to display many attractive shots of the mega department store in the town…

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako happily sang along with an adorable hand motion after the commercial ended to both her dad and her older cousin…

"Dad! They're going to be open during Golden Week!" Nanako announced what they already seen, looking at Nanako's cheerful smile made both Yu and Izanagi get back to 100% health. Back then, they were very protective of that smile…

"Haha, I heard. Do you want to go somewhere during the long holiday?" Dojima happily asked his very young daughter of a good vacation spot, Nanako was surprised they could.

"We can go somewhere!?" She stood up with a surprised look to her dad, Dojima turned his attention to his nephew below him.

"How about it? Got any plans yet?" Dojima asked the city boy with an eager look on his face, the grey-haired boy only could respond one way.

"Nope, no plans…" Yu told his uncle on the couch with a simple smile, but remembering Nanako's utter disappointment in the future made his mood wane a little inside, Izanagi comforted him like usual about this stuff…

"Then let's all go somewhere together! Junes! Junes Junes Junes!" Nanako joyfully chanted, jumping up and down on her seat pillow…

"You're sure you want to go to Junes? We can go there anytime… Come on, girl, time for bed. It's late." Dojima spoke to Nanako with a gentle fatherly demeanor.

"Alright…" Nanako began to feel sort of tired all of a sudden.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako cutely sang once more and seemed very excited about the family outing, too bad both Yu and Izanagi knew the outcome to this. Though if that hadn't happened, the feeling of closeness they both had with Nanako may have never felt the same as if it did happen. Dojima quickly got her to bed and rejoined his nephew in the living room. After a while, Yu got up from his seat and began heading to his own room as the clock was nearing midnight… Dojima raised his head from the newspaper he was reading…

"Junes, huh? She's satisfied to go somewhere that's so close… Well, I'm not going to force you, but if you don't have any plans, try to keep it in mind…" Dojima remarked to the grey-haired teenager, he nodded.

"Got it… night!" Yu quickly exchanged goodnights with his uncle and headed up the stairs to his room for the night…

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Midnight Channel]

The grey-haired protagonist opened the door to his room, he then began making his way to the sleeping futon in the corner. Izanagi was right behind his user in the door way, he looked between Yu heading to bed already and the TV in his room…

"Thou aren't going to check the Midnight Channel tonight?" Izanagi asked his user with a confused look on his face…

"Oh, that's tonight? I mean it's not it really matters if we do check anyway, we've already saved Yukiko and Chie's always keeping close tabs on her at this point…" Yu tried to reason with his Banchū-looking persona, though Izanagi still seemed unsure about it. Yu was in the process of getting his sleep clothes on…

"I'd say we should still check the TV… it's almost Midnight and there's no harm in doing so…" Izanagi crossed his arms to assert his stance on the possible matter of screwing up the timeline of events, his user gave him a tired look.

"(Sighs) Personally, I'm starting to feel like even if we do some things out of order in this cycle… they'll all lead down the same path anyways…" Yu remarked as he began to rub his eyes from the coming sleep.

"But there certainly are branches down the path, serious ones too… that's why we're here right now, aren't we?" Izanagi made a good point, one that Yu couldn't really argue with… you know because it's his fault!

"Fine… I know you want to play it safe, and I appreciate it. Okay, let's get ready…" Yu spoke as he went over to the shuttered window to see if it was still raining outside… it was. The Japanese God looked into their turned off TV set, a fuzzy static picture began to show… there was no one there. After the Midnight channel aired briefly, Yu once again began getting his futon ready… Izanagi still had a hand to his chin, maybe Yu was right… but something still feels off, though he couldn't name what it was.

"See… nothings there like always. Alright, let's go to sleep!" Yu assured his persona. He then laid himself down on the futon with Izanagi fading back into his mind after shutting the lights off.

"I guess thou are right…" Izanagi remarked, he sounded uncertain though. Since Yukiko has been rescued, it seems the killer was thwarted this time. Meanwhile, at the fog-shrouded shopping district…

* * *

[Central Shopping District, Night time]

A dark figure walks around in the fog that enveloped most of Inaba, it was the young detective Adachi of the Police Department with his Persona Magatsu-Izanagi floating closely behind him in silence… they stopped underneath the Tatsuhime shrine entrance. The serial killer looked up at one of the many utility poles in the closed district… nobody was hanging…

"…Hmm. Seems like the kid gots it all down to tee…" Adachi uttered under his breath in dull surprise, he sighed with relief that Narukami didn't mess up this first rescue… Though, this small moment really didn't change how the Detective sees him at all. To him, he's still a wide-eyed brat in his eyes… as his user spoke, Magatsu faintly sensed something else… it was a wicked feeling, the God of Calamity began scanning the district…

Suddenly, outside of the Magatsu-Izanagi's view, a ghostly masked figure with golden-colored eyes was perched atop one the many utility poles outside of the shopping district with ease like a Shinobi, it watched both Adachi and Magatsu-Izanagi in particular with curiosity and disturbing glee…

The figure was visibly feminine but was also much taller than an average human, it wore really heavy-looking samurai armor with a helmet that resembled an Oni from the netherworld itself. It's arms were crossed as the demon-looking figure began feeling excitement of something that had to do with the pair…

Magatsu-Izanagi managed to faintly sense a presence that was a little unnerving, and glared into the direction of the unknown danger, he couldn't tell where exactly it was, the heavy fog in the real world made it difficult to see compared to the Midnight Channel. Magatsu prepared his battle stance as he moved himself closer to Adachi, they were soon back to back… Adachi felt something was off as well… he pulled out his gun and readied it…

"Thou feel that…?" The corrupted persona questioned as he looked around tensely if the unknown danger he was feeling was coming close to them… Magatsu-Izanagi wasn't sure because he can't truly scan the area like how other particular personas can…

"I can tell it wasn't that fucking Crawling Chaos. We should get home… quickly…" Adachi ordered his persona with his gun in both hands. As he heard those words, Magatsu-Izanagi curiously looked back briefly at his user…

"Are thou worried about the girl…?" Magatsu-Izanagi asked him, sounding pretty nonchalant about it.

"No, She's that creepy monster's niece right? Why the hell should I care about her?" Adachi expressed in annoyance, his eyes focusing on what was in front of him…

"Well, maybe she's thy chance to change for the better… have somebody to bond with…" Magatsu-Izanagi said passively to his unwilling user, ever since being utterly defeating the bonds of friendship that gave resolve to those meddling kids, The God of Calamity wondered if he could get his user to care for a least someone else… feeling like Adachi would be happier in this world.

"I don't need to change; I like myself the way I am…" Adachi asserted himself as he kept focus on what was probably lurking about, dismissing that way of thinking his persona had… Magatsu remained silent.

"Let's go…" Adachi spoke out to the God of Calamity behind him, feeling pretty threatened of the unseen danger that was still watching them, Adachi began running out of the central shopping district with his persona closely following back to their apartment…

The Demonic figure with Golden eyes was quietly sitting on the wooden shrine entrance with a rather causal posture… just above of where Adachi and Magatsu-Izanagi once were… the two didn't sense her approach to them at all… she had stealthy moved about in the fog to their position… The Demoness even managed to eavesdrop on the conversation… not that she would care about the details… but did take an interest with "this girl" they were speaking about… She dropped down to the road of the Central Shopping District and stood tall while carrying a long dual-bladed saber…

The Demoness actually resembled something that was very much like a persona, her appearance was also similar to that of Magatsu-Izanagi… she had a black-colored body suit fitted with thick crimson armor, glowing red lines ran down her body like blood. The demon-styled helmet she wore was holding up her large raven-colored ponytail… The "Reverse Persona" soon disappeared within the fog covered shopping district…

… The Mysterious Fox laid hidden in the shrubbery bushes while watching the demon vanish into the fog…

* * *

Omake #7

Two Best Twins (with Junpei) review Persona 5

[Iwantodai Dormitory, Evening]

A boy who wore a ball cap in doors quietly headed toward the Arisato Twins who were sitting idly on the large couch in the main lobby of the dorms, the two of them see his approach and quickly prep themselves to discuss the latest main game in the Persona series, _Persona 5._

In Junpei's hand, was the PlayStation 4 copy of the game. As he quickly arrived to their spot, Junpei loudly slammed the game case (without the disc inside, of course…) onto the middle of the table in pent-up excitement before Minato and Minako, the two twin co-leaders of the SEES were also eagerly waiting to discuss _Persona 5_ with their mutual friend, Junpei had just finished the game for the first time. He quickly takes his own seat in a chair nearby.

"So dudes, come on! Give me your thoughts!" An overly-happy Junpei pointed his finger at the front cover of the game's box art… with Akira Kuru smiling, Minako quickly cleared her throat to speak her thoughts first as both her brother and friend listen closely…

"Well, I wanted to keep this short… Persona 5 was simply amazing… especially towards the end of the game where EVERYTHING JUST BLEW MY FREAKIN' MIND!" Minako began to cry with smiling joy of the game's ultimate reveal of (REDACTED), Minato with a stone face began to comfort his tear-eyed sister with a few pats on the back, Minako continued on…

"The Battle system was so fun too! I'm very happy that Atlus brought back gunplay and negotiation for recruiting Personas from the earlier games, the over world of Tokyo also felt a lot livelier than Persona 3 and 4, plus I can actually just meaningfully hang out with all my friends even after finishing their social links and date them too!" Minako voiced her observations as she blurted out the things she liked the most about the game…

Junpei agreed with Minako of what they both liked about the game, the two of them quickly shifted their attention to Minato in the seat beside his sister for his own thoughts, the blue-haired boy still remained quiet and stone-faced as usual. Minato was thinking about what to say about Persona 5, but there's was too much he wanted to discuss the game's story over everything else. But ultimately couldn't, since Minato wasn't sure if all the readers had finished the game previously… PLAY THE GAME IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! IT'S FUCKIN' INCREDIBLE! GNHTMHJTNFDFWVDVDFBVFGBSCX

"Minato! Say something already!" Minako moaned about her older twin brother's indecisiveness to speak his mind and began to playfully tug on the black sleeve of his Gekkoukan uniform…

"Yeah, man! At least tell me who your "special waifu" is so I can say if she's either complete trash or not!" The Magician jokingly barked at his best friend who was still thinking about it… The Fool came up with his answer…

"There's way too much here for me to discuss about Persona 5, I also don't want to spoil anything really amazing but…" Minato lowered his head, covering his eyes with shade from the other two, both Minako and Junpei closed in from their positions to listen to what he's going to say…

"Makoto is… best girl… period." Minato quietly uttered to them with firm conviction in that statement, both Minako and Junpei became very ecstatic right after…

"Whoa, super good choice my dude!" Junpei quickly gave a slightly-smiling Minato the most spirited of thumbs up, Minako agreed too but…

"I really liked Haru more to be honest, but that's just me. That fluffy girl is way too adorable and sweet…" Minako happily voiced her own personal waifu among them as she thought of Haru's smile in her mind…

"There's no wrong choice there Minako… I like Haru but **Hifumi** is just too cute!" An elated Junpei told the brunette across from him at the lounge table.

"Okay one more thing… what do you guys think of the Phantom Thieves? Are they just?" The Magician humorously asked the twins of their thoughts about the brand new team of Persona users…

"The rest are fine, both Ryuji and Yusuke are best boys for me… with Goro being the most handsome boy ever next to my Shinji-senpai… "Akira Kurusu" is probably the most stylish and has the most personality among the protagonists out of all the games… what about you, Minato? What do you think?"

"I honestly expected Persona 5 to already have the "FES/Golden experience" inside… but in the end, it just felt like Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and 4… I mean, I can't complain since that might happen in the future… my personal thoughts on the characters is the same as Minako, but there is someone I do dislike in particular…" Minato uttered to the others in the room, large question marks floated above their heads…

"Who…?" both Junpei and Minako asked curiously who it was from the very likable cast of the game…

"Morgana… I got fed up that cheeky little cat telling me to sleep almost every night in the early stages of the game, I also really didn't appreciate his awful treatment of my boy, Ryuji. You know, despite the fact that Ryuji was a lot more useful to me **coughcouchGod's Handcoughcough** in later battles, though I did get some feels for Morgana towards the end, I'll give him that much… But even after, I'm still more of a dog person, It's still a very great game for me throughout." Minato stated his personal stance on the Mascot character for Persona 5, also thinking how much more awesome Koromaru is in comparison to those silly mascots from both 4 and 5.

"So what're you expecting for Persona 5 FES/Platinum/Rubywhatever in a couple more years?" Junpei enthusiastically asked for final thoughts from the twins.

"Hmm, I guess just more fun times with friends really… what about you, Minato?" Minako eagerly asked her blue-haired brother beside her of what he wants to see in the possible Persona 5 expansion…

"Well I do have a crazy theory of what the developers might add given the background of who the final boss is, it may not be something like the Answer… but it'll probably be another "Marie-type" character mostly because… Persona 5 is missing its(REDACTED)arcana link… which was in both of the expansions for Persona 3 and 4." Minato answered Junpei's question with some slight eagerness in his tone, the three SEES began contemplating what the changes for the eventual P5 expansion could potentially be… they really couldn't wait for re-release on hopefully the PlayStation 4 again!

Fucking Atlus, Man. They should have done that from the beginning but I guess they really need large amounts of money! Those DLC prices must be because the company spent a shit ton a couple months ago for a cooler development studio. I really hope the sales from the rest of world help them recover from some of the deficit for the fiscal year… it was over 570 million what the fuck! I'm sure their Sega Daddy will help them out…

* * *

Update 1.1 is out, check profile for more details.

Author's notes: Sorry this took a while, anyways do not look up Japanese Mythology at all or you will be spoiled about what's to come! Also I got theories about the Persona 5 expansion that may come in a couple of years. Message me if you guys want to talk about it.


	32. Chapter 32

Fool Rank 2 / End of Volume I – Chapter 32

{April 30, 2011} {Sunny}

Yu along with his persona Izanagi headed toward the large paved entrance of Yasogami High as class was about to start on this bright and sunny morning. A somewhat nervous-looking Yukiko waited off to the side of the school gate for her friend Chie, She was standing with her newly awakened persona, Konohana Sakuya. The Cherry Blossom Princess was in the middle of trying to ease some anxiety her user Yukiko was still feeling. Coming back to school after all that happened was going to be hard for her, as the grey-haired boy reached Yasogami's gate, he noticed Yukiko standing near with her Persona, just like before...

"I'm sure it'll all be fine Yukiko-sama, just relax…" Konohana told the anxious girl in red with a calm and gentle voice while giving Yukiko nice shoulder rubs. Yukiko herself wondered if the massage her persona was giving to be necessary but she really didn't mind it since her mind was more on about what happened in the past days and the friends who saved her…

"Hey There!" Yu stopped by the entrance to cheerfully greet Yukiko, the suddenness of the transfer student's appearance made the Amagi girl jolt in surprise and lose thought, it also caused Konohana to let go of her user's shoulders too. Izanagi stood behind his user quietly as he started talking with Yukiko.

"O-Oh… Good morning." The Amagi Girl responded to him with a nervous but polite tone. She held her book bag behind her as she spoke. The Amagi Girl then curiously gazed at the tall figure of Izanagi who stood behind his own user. The Banchō-looking Persona noticed her gaze and gave a polite nod in return.

"Feeling better?" The grey-haired transfer student remarked to her with a gentle smile…

"Y-Yeah. I'll be coming back to school again, so… That'll be nice." Yukiko answered with a smile too but it faded quickly as it appeared. Now, it was Konohana Sakuya's turn to feel more awkward while being there with her good friend and leader Izanagi, she started to shrivel up in massive embarrassment as Izanagi just stood there minding his own business, Konohana couldn't look at him the same way again, the words "DAUGHTER-ZONED" ran across her mind while her mental image of Izanagi having a pretty gleeful-looking expression all the while.

"Are you okay Konohana?" Izanagi observed his female friend's behavior with curiosity, Konohana was still absorbed in her thoughts to notice his concern…

"I caused everyone some real trouble. I'm sorry." Yukiko apologized to the transfer student for what had happened in the last few days, her expression went pretty sullen again. Konohana remained very deeply in thought about being "like a daughter" to the Japanese God of Creation, Izanagi just wondered if she was okay. The Amagi Girl thought a little about the situation and then reproached her words as they weren't right in her mind…

"No, "sorry" isn't quite right. What I mean to say is, thank you…" The Amagi Girl professed with a genuine smile. Her expression in general seemed more cheerful than before. It looks like she managed to relax a bit, although Konohana was still shaking with sweat drops all over…

"It's all good…" Yu gave nod of support for her, Izanagi wondered if it was about the "daughter thing" back in the dungeon, it was. Yukiko continued what she had to say.

"My mother's back to work already. The maids are being really supportive, and I think things are going even smoother than before. I wonder if I was trying too hard. I may have been caught up in the idea that I had to do everything myself. Ever since the incident… I feel like I can think about these things more calmly." Yukiko stated to him though as she finished, the Amagi Girl turned her face away from the all the awkwardness… Yu understood how she felt inside.

"B-But… it's still kind of embarrassing. You guys saw everything. Even the things I didn't want to admit…" Yukiko began to blush as she spoke to him, but her face was that of gleeful fluster rather then actual embarrassment, if that exists? Idk.

"That's only one part of you." He sincerely told her.

"I'd like to believe that…" Yukiko responded to him with a relaxed smile, the two soon hear familiar voices speak out to them, it was Chie and Tomoe coming up at the entrance.

"Yukiko!" The Kung-Fu loving girl called out to Yukiko at the foot of the entrance, she waved at her along with Tomoe too…

"Oh, it's Chie!" Yukiko returned the wave to her best friend, she then turned toward Yu to say goodbye.

"Well, I'll talk to you later." The Amagi Girl bowed politely to Yu and she took her leave along with Konohana following quickly behind after quickly uttering a shaky farewell to both Yu and Izanagi. The Japanese God felt that Konohana was unsure how to feel about what happened, they'll have to talk it out later…

"(sighs) That's the first one down, still a lot to go…" The grey-haired boy said to himself with a pretty tired but pleased look, he watched Both Chie and Yukiko greet each other. He soon headed inside the school for homeroom to begin, Yukiko has come back as energetic as ever. It's a good thing they all were able to save her…

* * *

[Yasogami High - Roof, After School]

Yu and The Investigation Team gathered on top of Yasogami High's Main Building, the view from place went far and wide in all directions. The beginning of sunset made everything have a bright orange hue…

The three friends were idly chatting while they waited for Yukiko to return from getting lunch for both her and Chie. The Amagi Girl quickly appeared from the rooftop door with two plastic-colored bowls, each one was letting out a hot smoke from their slightly-opened lids. The smoke itself carried the tasty smell of instant ramen, Yukiko came running to them. Her friends turned their attention to her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. The Soba is yours, right Chie?" Yukiko carefully handed her currently sitting friend the green-colored bowl filled with piping hot noodles…

"Thanks! Oooh, that smells so gooood. These instant noodles are just the thing to help me through club! How much longer do I have to wait on this?" The short-haired girl asked her best friend, she was even starting water at the mouth of the smell, geez Chie it's just ramen…

"It still needs a few minutes." Yukiko tells her with a smile, amused by Chie's big eater behavior.

"So, why're we here? Oh yeah, we were going to ask Yukiko what happened." Chie looks up at Yosuke who standing next to his partner. Yosuke begins and faced his attention toward Yukiko, who turned her head in response…

"Yukiko-san, I hate to bring up stuff you'd rather not think about, but I need to ask you again. Did you recall anything about when you got kidnapped?" Yosuke cuts to the chase fairly quickly and inquires to her, her face grew sullen.

"No… I thought I might remember something if I let it sit for a while, but as time passes, it only gets hazier." Yukiko admitted to them as her eyes faced the ground, her three friends visibly pondered. She begins to recall some minor details…

"I think the doorbell rang at the entrance… and someone called for me. But when I woke up, I was already in the castle…" Yukiko followed up, but knew this tidbit of information wouldn't help her friends that much anyways…

"I'm sorry." She apologized to them, the pondering faces of her friends began to have understanding in their expression.

"No need to apologize. But does this mean her visitor is the culprit!?" Chie quickly reassured her best friend and inquired to the rest of them…

"I don't know. If it's true, then that's one daring criminal. What kind of killer would ring the doorbell? The police are probably looking for witnesses, but I don't think we can expect much from them. Heh, as if the culprit wore bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime." Yosuke began to ponder the what kind of bastard the killer was while Yu recalled how Adachi had a big yellow raincoat during this whole thing. It has to be a super coincidence or something, it's just too perfect.

"I wonder why whoever it is would do stuff like this…" Chie felt uneasy as she thought what kinda person they have to be; the way in which the murders went down were so bizarre… throwing people into TVs so they can be killed, the police would never believe them unless they were doing it themselves…

"We won't know until we confront 'em ourselves. But we can be sure of one thing. It's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place. Someone on our side is definitely kidnapping them and throwing them into the TV. It's murder, all right." Yosuke responded to the girl in green with confidence, he looks toward Yu with a smile of support as he was the leader.

"Oh yeah, we never told you." Yosuke remembered something important to tell the girls after taking a look at Yu, he turned toward Yukiko to explain.

"This guy and me are gonna catch the culprit ourselves!" Yosuke put a firm hand on Yu's shoulder, which the latter found weird cause he didn't do that before…

"The police are out of their league on this case, but we got Personas." Yosuke pointed toward the personas off to the side as they were having their own conversation, other students that were on the roof at the time had heard the Junes boy's declaration and just see Yosuke pointing at nothing in the corner, they all begin wondering if he was crazy… Jiraiya and his friends noticed the Junes boy's gesture. The Ninja frog along with Tomoe and Izanagi started waving cheerfully to Yukiko with her awkwardly returning the wave… she also noticed her own persona Konohana giving a nod of support.

"Could you lend us a hand?" Yu politely asked Yukiko for help, he had determined look on his face…

"Huh? Um…" Yukiko felt this was sudden that he was asking, she had awakened to Konohana Sakuya a few days ago and she still doesn't know how to "use" her yet… Chie spoke up.

"I'm helping out too! I can't believe someone would throw people into a place like that. I'm gonna sock whoever's doing this!" Chie pumped her fist full of resolve to them. Both Yosuke and Yu were glad that she was on board… Yukiko began to think more of Yu's offer.

"Chie… Let me help too. I want to know why this is happening. Especially if someone hates me so much they want to kill me. I don't want to run away from myself anymore."

"Alright! Then let's all work together and catch this asshole!" Yosuke had a cheery look on his face…

"Agreed." The Amagi Girl smiled, Yukiko joined the group! She'll definitely be a strong asset in solving the case… Over to where the team's Personas were at on the roof, the four of them were also having a chitchat about something important like their respective users… except not.

"HAHAHA! IT'S STILL TOO FUNNY! YOU'RE IZANAGI'S LITTLE GIRL HAHA OMG!" Jiraiya spoke with a mocking voice and began to hold himself with his webbed hands from laughing pretty hard at Konohana's expense…

The Cherry Blossom Princess was fuming so deeply that a small amount of smoke began to raise from her head. Izanagi and Tomoe were looking pretty scared together as they watched all of this play out, the entire school might go up in flames! Thankfully, it seemed that Konohana can contain her anger, if only a little bit.

"S-Shut up, Toad! AGI!" The red-faced Konohana casted her single-target fire spell into the frog's face, putting his laughing to an abrupt end. Jiraiya's face managed to catch on fire. He started to run around like crazy on the roof, screaming bloody murder while trying to put the flame out from his face… A nervous-looking Izanagi carefully approached Konohana with Tomoe hiding right behind him…

"So… D-Do you want to talk about it now? I-I mean we don't have to, you know!" Izanagi awkwardly suggested to the princess with Tomoe bracing herself for a possible fire blast, the annoyed-looking Konohana slowly turned herself toward the sweating Japanese God. Jiraiya was still running around like crazy in the background…

"Why, me Izanagi!? All that time we've spent together in the past is now just going to be AWKWARD! Is there something wrong with me? Am I not mature enough…?" Konohana shouted in frustration at him but it slowly dwindled to a sad plead for answer. She gazed at the ground before her. Izanagi took a moment before speaking.

"I know that's it difficult to understand, but that's how I truly felt when I was with you…" Izanagi looked at Konohana who lifted herself to meet his eyes…

"All that time… helping teach Yukiko-san how to become an independent woman with tiny steps each day, teaching you how to take care of her well-being so she can live her life the way she needs to… all of that reminded me of how I was back then…" Izanagi confessed to them, Both Tomoe and Konohana began to look at him with wonder… Jiraiya came back to them just in time with a burnt face…

"What do you mean, Izanagi?" Tomoe spoke to the Japanese God with concern… Konohana remained quiet and listened to his words carefully…

"Being a father…" Izanagi responded as he looked toward the sun coming down, he grew sullen with memories flooding back in of the time when he was young. The ninja frog man sensed the mood and quietly put his hand on his buddy's shoulder to comfort him, Tomoe did the same too with his other. Konohana began pondering…

"Was the way I acted, reminiscent to your own child…?" Konohana genuinely inquired about that, feeling somewhat uncertain of what to think now…

"Yes… like you, she always worried about making the lives for those she cared for happier everyday. She was one of my many precious daughters, But she's gone now… along with her two brothers…" Izanagi uttered his answer with a quiet voice.

"I see…" Konohana pondered a little about how much of their time together meant to him, even if what he felt was totally different… maybe she didn't love him "that way" at all. She was still uncertain though.

"What was her name…?" Konohana inquired to Izanagi, he took a moment to answer that.

"…Can you remember?" Jiraiya added, the ninja frog was starting to get those kinds of feels. Even his partner had some emotional baggage tied to him…

"No unfortunately, although She and her brothers were the last children I birthed… it's really hard to remember how they looked too, they all were so different in appearance… I guess my age is finally catching up to me, huh? Hehe…" Izanagi let out a small chuckle to keep himself from feeling too worked up… an emotional Tomoe began to tenderly hug The Japanese God without a care if her Master sees them. A Jiraiya wiped his beady eye and joined the hug too to make him feel better…

"I'm sorry for making it difficult for you to remember because of my whining…" Konohana apologized, Izanagi slowly removed himself from the group hug and approached her.

"Don't be Konohana, I'm glad I could feel that way again… Thank you!" Izanagi cheerfully embraced princess with a "big ol' dad" hug. Konohana was weirdly starting to feel different about this, she returned his gesture happily… the two remained like that for a brief moment…

"Does Yu-kun know?" Tomoe asked curiously as the two embraced like a father and daughter.

"Of course… ever since then, he's been trying to bring them out from his soul so I can remember their appearance so I can jog my memory… but Even If I can't see them, I know they are all doing well without me…" Izanagi answered with a content look in his eyes…

"I'll help you find them too, Yu-san helped Yukiko-sama realize the wonderful life she already had. I want to return the favor to him, it's the least I can do… I promise to help him find the truth for real!" Konohana began to show a new side of herself to the others, she never really demonstrated the drive for solving this case, all she could think about was Yukiko's happiness. It was so unlike her that it made everyone slightly surprised…

"It seems we're all looking for truths about ourselves, even you partner…" Jiraiya joyfully wrapped his arm around Izanagi's neck as the others stayed close. The Japanese God looked at the supportive faces of his friends, it seems he didn't feel so alone anymore. He wondered if this is how Yu felt sometimes… back to the Investigation Team's talk.

"But how're we going to find them? We don't have a single lead yet." Chie added as the group continued discussing about the case…

"I'm the third one to be targeted so far… But I have a feeling this isn't the end of it. If we had an idea of who might be targeted next, wouldn't we have an advantage over the killer?" Yukiko pointed out…

"So we'll outsmart them, huh? Yeah, that might work." Yosuke shrugged. Yu was just silently wondering about dinner…

"Okay, so let's see if we can figure out what ties the victims together. First there was that announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Second was Saki Konishi… Senpai. Third was Yukiko Amagi. What do they all have in common?" Yosuke followed up. He, Chie and Yukiko deliberated quietly about it… Yu began starving for food as he smelled the girls' food…

"…" There was awkward silence among them as they pondered on. The grey-haired protagonist noticed that nobody was saying anything and he had forgotten to say something…

"OH! They're all female." Yu added to their discussion…

"Bingo!" Yosuke exclaimed. The short-haired girl grew pretty heated by the thought…

"How dare he target females! Now that's unforgivable! The culprit's gotta be some kinda pervert…" Chie stated with a look of displeasure on her face.

"Also, what about this? The second and third victims had some sort of connection to the first one…" Yosuke mentioned this to them Chie recalled something about that.

"Hey, that's right. Yukiko and Saki-senpai both had connections to that announcer..." The short-haired girl looked at Yukiko with a look of slight disbelief.

"That's true. Then… does that mean females connected in some way to Ms. Yamano's case are being targeted?" Yukiko wondered about that…

"I think that's a safe assumption for now. There's another angle we can take, too. If another person disappears…" Yosuke trailed off as he thought about it…

"You think they'd be on that Midnight Channel? That happened right before Yukiko was kidnapped, too."

"Yeah, it's hard to tell who at first, but what's important is, it's happened before the victims disappeared. Kinda like a ransom note." Yosuke told Chie. As the Junes boy spoke his words, Yu stopped thinking and pointed something out about what he said.

"Wait… wouldn't that be the exact opposite of a ransom note? Aren't ransom notes… for after the fact? You know, never mind… continue." Yu told his partner who began to feel awkward about what he just said, both Chie and Yukiko thought about it… Yu was right about that! Yosuke isn't the sharpest…

"W-Well, we still don't know why that happens, but we'll have to rely on it for now." Yosuke managed to save face after saying something kinda dumb, the grey-haired boy started to feel bad that he pointed this out…

"The next time it rains…" Yukiko's tone was uneasy as she thought… It seems that the Midnight Channel is their only means of predicting who will be kidnapped next. they must remember to watch it on the next rainy night...

"By the way, aren't those done by now?" Yosuke looked at the girls' delicious-smelling food, he started to feel hungry like his partner…

"Whoa, that's right! Chow time!" Chie eagerly opened her plastic bowl filled with ramen and started eating with delight… Yosuke began water at the mouth as he watched her eat…

"Hey could I try just a little bit of that!? Just one tiny bite!" Yosuke begged Chie as his stomach growled, Yu began to remember what happened at this certain part, he decided it was best to try and avert it…

"Hands off the soba, pal! Go get your own if you want some." Chie held her ramen bowl close to her body, away from the hungry-looking Junes Boy… Yosuke utilized his most pathetic and desperate look to sway her… causing Chie feel pity that he's actually stooping to that level…

"Rrrngh… Okay, just one bite, got it?" Chie begrudgingly stood up from her spot and carefully handed her bowl to Yosuke. The delicious aroma from the udon bowl began drifting to Yu's way too… the smell was too awesome not to want to chow down… BUT HE MUSTN'T EAT IT!

"Do you want to try some?" Yukiko noticed Yu's face as the whiff of deliciousness him full on and offered her bowl of fried tofu… though the grey-haired protagonist was feeling hungry before Yosuke, he politely declined her offer and waited to get home for dinner… but then!

"I'll take some of that! Thank You!" Izanagi suddenly appeared in front of Yu in surprise and eagerly took Yukiko's bowl from her hands. The Girl in Red was pretty dumbfounded by the appearance of Yu's Persona but decided to let him have some anyway… that wasn't a mistake.

Both Izanagi and Yosuke began having some of the girls' lunch, Yu tried to stop the Japanese God from eating it, the two of them wrestled over the bowl… Yukiko just wondered why the transfer student was stopping his persona from having some of her tofu…

"It's soooo gooood… The aroma, the flavor, and the texture all combined… This is perfect!" Yosuke commented as he began shoving the food down. It's too delicious to stop eating… Izanagi simply shoved all the food down his throat before Yu could take the bowl away, HE MUST PRESERVE THE TIME LINE!

"Aaaack! What the hell are you doing!?" Chie gasped and watch her precious food eaten away by Yosuke in mere seconds. She quickly took away the bowl to save what she could eat, there was nothing left, not even the base…

"You ate everything…" Chie grew depressed after seeing Yosuke eat all of her precious udon…

"M-My fried tofu…" Yukiko was also pretty horrified as the Persona Izanagi had completely cleaned her bowl from any traces of HER TOFU…

"I hope you guys understand what this means…" Chie began seething with understandable anger at Yosuke, she approached menacingly to him with a stare that could kill a thousand. He actually couldn't help himself on this one…

"W-Wait wait wait! Stop! I'm sorry! I-I'll buy you steak! It'll be on me!" Yosuke panicked as she got close. He put his hands in front of his face in a rather feeble attempt to protect himself from Kung-Fu girl's wrath. Her furious expression at him began subside after bargaining for his life…

"Y-You hear me? The very best!" Yosuke bargained a paycheck for his precious life, Jiraiya remembered this moment and simply sighed, man this part was so lame…

"Steak!?" Chie's eyes lit up with excitement, though Yukiko didn't feel the same spirit as her…

"My tofu…" Yukiko stared into the empty bowl in her hands with sadness all over… Yu frowned at Izanagi for managing to fuck this up, The Japanese God stood firm in what he did… for some reason.

"C'mon, Yukiko… There's steak in it for us now! We can eat instant noodles anytime we want. Right?" Chie tried her best to cheer up a friend who wasn't in the best mood right now, you know... after what happened.

"Well… as long as it isn't too fatty." Yukiko grumbled as she was still pretty pissed at them, especially the Persona in the long black coat…

"Okay, we've reached a verdict! You are hereby sentenced to buying us steak!" Chie cheerfully declared to Yosuke, who flinched at her declaration… that's another paycheck gone…

"What wouldn't be too fatty? Filet? Ooh, filet sounds nice and expensive! Filet, filet, filet, filet mignon!" Chie eagerly thought of their options, Yosuke turned over to his partner…

"Hey, you've gotta pony up too! You're just as much to blame!" Yosuke told Yu who winced at those words… He glared at Izanagi once again with an angry and confused look, he thought out loud to the Persona…

" _What the hell, Izanagi!? Why did you allow that to happen again!?"_ Yu snapped at the Japanese God in his mind, really annoyed by what he did…

" _I was simply keeping our timeline from going off the rails! What if this event not happening destroyed all of time and space!"_ Izanagi claimed to his upset user, sounding like a crazy conspiracy theorist. Yu remained non-plussed by his Persona's explanation… Both Tomoe and Konohana had awkward sweat drops at their argument…

* * *

[Junes Department Store – Food Court, After School]

After deciding which one of them would pay for the girl's food depending on what they ordered. The boys treated their friends to some of the grilled steak at Junes, they all sat around their usual round table at the food court… each of the girl's steak was cooling off…

"Man, talk about great timing. We just started serving grilled steak today… We're doing our part to spread this town's specialty dish. Plus, we've already got an excellent grill." Yosuke told the group with a sense of relief for catching a lucky break on this… The short-haired girl knew that Yosuke was cheaping out on the deal…

"That's just a yakisoba griddle! Oh well, steak is steak. It's far from a filet steak though… Yukiko, are you okay with this? It's not too heavy for you?" Chie turned her attention to Yukiko, who was still pretty heated by what happened…

"I'll eat it… I'm still mad." Yukiko then eyed over behind Yu directly to his Persona Izanagi since he was the one to blame… After getting a death glare from the Amagi girl, Izanagi suddenly felt a cold shiver down his spine… Konohana stops Tomoe from trying to comfort him…

"So, back on topic, I wonder what kind of person the culprit is…" Chie quickly got back on their talk on the roof while waiting for her food to cool off… again.

"If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing. Maybe it was her lover's wife." Yosuke speculated, though Jiraiya knew the true answer to that but had to keep that tidbit to himself… Man, memory wipe is starting to sound good right about now… this is so boring…

"But Misuzu Hiiragi had a solid alibi, didn't she? And it seemed like she was already separated from her husband." The short-haired girl pointed out… she was always kinda informed, despite not being the smartest. Yu was kind of amazed this second time around by Chie knowing things before even he did the first time… it's almost like someone was just saying crucial cast details out loud for them to hear… oh wait, yeah!

"Really? You know an awful lot about this… Okay, what about the second case? Saki-senpai… she found the announcer's body. Assuming the same person killed them both, then why target Senpai?" Yosuke wondered about that, Yu spoke up for this…

"It was to shut her up…" Yu expressed to him, that was half true in fact… the Junes Boy agreed.

"Yeah, I think so too. Maybe she found a clue or something about the culprit…" Yosuke then pondered more of what his Senpai must have known about the killer…

"But the killer just threw the announcer into a TV, right? I don't think he would've left evidence the police-much less a high school student-would catch." Yukiko had a fair point.

"Yeah, exactly…" Yosuke looked downhearted after hearing that, Yukiko felt bad for having touched a sore spot of Yosuke's… A young detective walks into the food court and in their field of view…

"Man, I thought the countryside would be a snooze, but it's proving to be a lot more exciting than I thought… Ooh, they updated the menu!" Adachi says inexplicably out loud to himself, the others turned their attention…

"Huh? Isn't he that detective?" Yosuke remembered the young detective's face from the police station, Yu simply rolled his eyes while the others curiously observed Adachi from a distance, he then noticed Dojima's shit nephew and his friends sitting by the table like way before… The young detective strolled over to say his piece to them…

"Hey, you were at Dojima-san's… Oh that's right! Do you mind passing an important message for me?" Adachi spoke directly to the grey-haired transfer student at the other end of the table with a care-free attitude, it was clear that he wasn't welcomed judging by the look in his eyes…

"Sure…" Yu uttered in response with an almost dejected-sounding voice, the others thought something was up between them. Their Personas were sitting around by the railing near the table. After noticing that Adachi was here, they all begin to flip the bird at him. Magatsu-Izanagi fired back one of his own from Adachi's mind…

"Dojima-san said that he'll be leaving work on schedule tonight. Could you pass that on to Nanako-chan? Yo! I'm Adachi, Dojima-san's gofer… Err, I mean, his partner." Adachi introduced himself clumsily to the others at their table…

"Are you this busy every day?" Yosuke remarked rather sarcastically to Adachi…

"Huh? Oh, well, the public seems to be getting a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that…" Adachi explained his rather poor excuse again like before. Geez, the police were useless weren't they?

"Sorry to butt in, but could it be that the killer targeted Saki-senpai in order to silence her…?" Chie inquired to the blabbermouth police officer… Adachi noticed her interest in the case…

"Hmm? Well Of course, we're also thinking along those lines. She was killed right after the announcer's body was found. If the killer was trying to silence here, there might've been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi. Nothing like that points to Misuzu Hiiragi, so...Ooh, I might have stumbled across something here…" Adachi sounded confident in himself all the while awkward like usual, Yu wondered about the entity that was forcing Adachi to do this over again… was there any real purpose for this? Philemon was telling the truth, right? It seemed that Yu must confirm this with the killer himself some other time…

"W-Wait, were you listening to all that!? Crap! Me and my big mouth… D-Don't tell anyone I said any of that, or Dojima-san will flay me alive… *ahem*Relax, kids, the police are on the job. See you!" Adachi quickly leaves in hurry out of the Junes food court… and back to the grocery aisle to get some stuff for dinner. The teens watched him disappear inside the indoor building of Junes…

"(Sighs) You were right, Yosuke. The police are totally useless…" Chie noted with a hint of exasperation, then suddenly!

"Augh! My steak's getting cold!" Chie quickly began devouring the steak paid for by both Yu and Yosuke, the grey-haired wondered if she felt sick from eating that Mega Beef Bowl the other day. Nah, she must have slept it off…

"Could you shut up about the steak for five seconds?" Yosuke remarked to her, sounding irritated. Both Yu and Yosuke waited for the two girls to finish eating, the group then decided to go into the TV world to visit Teddie…

* * *

[The Midnight Channel – Entrance Hall, After School]

After falling inside the flat screen at Junes head first for almost the umpteenth time, and after recovering from the painfully long fall… the Investigation Team really started thinking about putting a mattress down… They began walking around the TV studio-like entrance. To Yukiko, the whole place was covered in fog…

"Wow… this really is inside the TV…" Yukiko looked in amazement of the strange foggy world inside the TV, the others observed her with their TV Glasses on… An eager Teddie appeared before them and Yukiko, He walked into sight of the girl in red…

"It's Teddie… Then it wasn't a dream." A curious Yukiko gazed at the Mysterious Bear's costume-like body, the others watched the two interact…

"Are you feeling better, Yuki-chan? I did what you said! I've been a good bear!" Teddie told Yukiko with a cheerful smile…

"Oh, I see. Good boy!" Yukiko commended Teddie modestly, a heart flutters over the Bear's head for the girl's words… a sweat drops falls from Yosuke's head at that…

"W-Well, this bear's part of the reason we want to find the culprit." Yosuke explained to Yukiko, she nodded in understanding…

"I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?" Yukiko told The Bear in front of her…

"Yep! I was thinking the same thing! That's why I got these ready for you, Yuki-chan!" Teddie announced to her, he quickly hands her own pair of TV glasses… a thin red-colored pair of glasses… She tried them on…

Oh, so these are what everyone's wearing. Thank you, Teddie." Yukiko thanked the Bear with a polite bow and observed her surroundings…

"You're right! It's just as if the fog doesn't exist…" She looked around the place clearly in wonder of how these glasses even work…

"Hey, tell me something. How come you have so many pairs of glasses?" Chie grew curious about that.

"Excellent question! Guess what? I'm the one who makes them. I've lived here for a long time… So I came up with some ways to be comfortable here." Teddie explained to her.

"I see. But don't you need a pair?" Yukiko inquired to Teddie since he doesn't appear to have any…

"Oooh, good point. Another great question! Listen to this! My eyes themselves are lenses! You didn't know?" Teddie pointed to his right eye to show them further…

"Of course not." Yosuke remarked rather dismissively, Teddie furrowed his brow and approached him…

"W-Why are you being so mean? You act like you're not interested! I'm a really dexterous bear! See how smoothly my fingers move!" Teddie began to delicately move his fingertips near the Junes boy's face…

"What am I even looking at!?" Yosuke shouted in annoyance at how weird that Bear is and pushes him down to the floor of the Entrance Hall causing him to roll a bit…

"Ow!" Teddie exclaimed though he managed to shoot back on his feet in a single motion, something had fell off his body.

"Hm? You dropped something." Yukiko walked over and picked a strange pair of glasses… the glasses themselves looked they were for gags only…

"Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on." Teddie looked at the defective pair and explained to her…

"Oooh…" Yukiko eagerly puts on the pair of glasses that were on the ground…

"Y-Yukiko?" Chie remarked as the glasses seemed… kinda funky-looking. The glasses had a set of swirly lenses, a pink nose in the middle of the frame along and a curvy cartoony mustache…

"Ahaha, how do I look?" Yukiko asked the friends while in a lively mood, though both Chie and Yosuke weren't too keen on answering… but Yu was!

"Looks great." The grey-haired boy playfully remarked to the Amagi girl with a smile…

"Ahahaha!" Yukiko began to laugh in delight…

"Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked her.

"I want to wear this one. It's even got a nose guard!" Yukiko joked about the plastic pink nose attached to the frame of the glasses as her goofy laugh started to come out in front of the others…

"Ohhh no you don't!" Chie DID not approve!

"How bear-y unfortunate. That pair doesn't have the right lenses in. Guess I should've made an actual pair." Teddie told the girl having some fun with them…

"Aww, too bad." Yukiko carefully took off the pair of Gag Glasses…

"Here, Chie. Your turn!" Yukiko enthusiastically handed them to her best friend so she could try them on… Chie

"*sigh* Man... All right, fine…" A reluctant Chie puts them for all of the group to see, both Yosuke and Yu were smiling at her in good fun… Chie did look pretty funny with them on… at least to her best friend Yukiko, who was even trying not snicker too hard…

"Snrk—Heehee…! Ahaha, ahahahahahaha!" Yukiko let out her silly fun laugh at Chie's expense… those around them were surprised to see the usually timid Yukiko like this. The grey-haired boy and his Persona remembered her goofy-ass laughter rather fondly this time as an endearing character trait…

"How'd it come to this…?" Chie uttered with slight dismay as her best friend Yukiko continued to laugh her head off at her appearance. Man, even Tomoe chuckled a bit too inside her mind…

"Y-Yukiko-san? Hellooo…?" A concerned Yosuke remarked to the Amagi girl who was still laughing pretty hard… Jiraiya was still pretty baffled by how bizarre Yukiko is about humor… Chie looked at the snorting girl with an annoyed look now…

"There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits… I never thought she'd do it when someone besides me was around… These stupid glasses are useless for investigating! I mean, what the hell's this nose for, anyway!?" Chie told the boys and Teddie in annoyance with the gag glasses still on… The bear frowned.

"Nice work, huh? That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone and I get bored!" Teddie told the group with a furrowed and frustrated brow at Chie's words…

"W-Well, I'm glad that she's in high spirits again, I guess…" Yosuke looked on the bright side of things… sort of?

"Oh Chie, the look on your face… Snrk… Hahaha, it was so funny! I-I can't stop… laugh-Heehee! Ohhh, my stomach, ahahaha…" Yukiko pointed at the slightly irritated short-haired girl and began to hold her stomach from laughing too hard… Konohana Sakuya also began to have a hoot with her precious user while everyone was awkwardly silent all around, watching them. The expanded Investigation Team was like this for a good while, until a certain Junes Boy got curious again…

"Oh That's right, hey partner, where's that weird door you went into last time?" Yosuke curiously asked his partner as looked around entrance hall… Yu had just remembered that he promised to tell the Junes boy about it.

"Ah, yeah! I almost forgot about that too! What exactly did you do in there, Yu-kun?" Chie was curious about that too; Yu was a little hesitant to explain since they might not believe it. But then again, they're inside a TV…

"Weird door?" Yukiko started to wonder about what her friends were talking about as she calmed down from laughing, Teddie faced her to explain…

"Yeah, right before we rescued you, Sensei here went inside a mysterious glowing blue door… just like that one over there!" Teddie pointed over to a corner of the entrance hall, everyone turned their heads to the direction… there it was… The Mysterious glowing door…

"Whoa it just appears! …Can we see what's inside it?" Yosuke asked the grey-haired boy quickly, it was clear that he was trying to keep his excitement from showing… Yu pondered about what to do.

"Well, know that I think about it, I honestly don't really see a problem if I let you guys in there…" Yu then checked his uniform pocket, he pulled out a strange blue key for all of them to see. The key itself also began to have a bright blue glow, just like the mysterious door. The fool headed to the door along with the others, Yu opened the door and a bright white shined upon them all as they entered...

* * *

{-Velvet Room-}

"Whoa, What is this place!?" Chie looked around herself in complete wonder. It was just an empty room, but she could really feel something that was oddly intriguing about this place…

"Huh!? It's just empty blue room?" Yosuke seemed kinda disappointed by what was behind the seemingly mysterious door. The Wild Card himself wondered what had changed the state of the Velvet Room, maybe there was too many hearts inside for it to take a proper shape…

"Huh? Wait, where's Teddie?" Yukiko wondered about where the mysterious bear was in this place, he was no where to be found.

"Maybe he stayed out? ...I wonder if this place is connected to that TV World." Yosuke speculated to them, though it really does feel different from the oppressing atmosphere of the fog-covered TV World…

"Back then... I got the sense that this place helped you, right? I mean It even made your Persona Izanagi stronger…" Chie told the Leader with a slight tilt of her head in confusion as to how that came about. Suddenly, the Investigation Team felt the presence of something in front of them, they all faced where it was and gazed upon a strange looking man with reciting white-colored hair and his hands clasped together, He sitting on an elegant looking blue couch. There was also this mysterious blond woman with golden eyes, she wore this strange blue uniform that seemed fit for an assistant, she also carried a large book titled Le Grimoire. Little did they know, that was her weapon of choice...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my name is Igor and I am pleased to make acquaintance with you all… along with our current, you three have been linked to this place..." Igor politely introduced himself to the young group of persona users, He had appeared to them along with Margaret. The grey-haired fool wondered where Marie was in this place, though it might baffle Yosuke to get that she's from this place too. (Marie's hanging with Yumiko for the day, also scheming together to win a certain boy's attention.)

"Velvet Room?" Yukiko told herself in slight surprise that this bizarre place had a name. She thought it was all odd, this place seems completely different from anything she knew despite being a blank space…

"A place between dream and reality, mind and matter…" Margaret explained to them what this place is, the others saved for Yu were rightfully confused by all of this…

"Wha? Who is this guy? Does he live here?" Chie looked at the long-nosed man sitting on the elegant sofa, the others were a little speechless of seeing Igor's form…

"Correct hmhm… Don't be alarmed by my appearance, I am merely here to aid "your leader" to uncover the truth…" Igor expressed to the group, they seemed to ease up at his words with help from his rather mystic sounding voice…

"He has a very long nose, like a banana… Snrk." Yukiko was quick to covered her mouth from laughing inappropriately again at the strange long-nosed man on the blue couch, a small sweat drop appeared on Chie's head as she heard her best friend's comment, and so did Igor, but his grin remained…

"This place feels so weird and surreal even compared to the TV World, it's makes me feel safe though…" Yosuke expressed the feeling of being inside this place…

"You really are a mysterious transfer student…" Chie expressed to her tall male friend with an amused look, Yu smiled back at her but then suddenly, the Junes boy tapped his shoulder for something…

"Wh-Who is she!?" A blushing Yosuke asked Yu about the blond golden-eyed beauty in front of him…

"I am Margaret, secretary to my master Igor…" Margaret introduced herself to them as she stood near Igor, her voice sounded very attractive to Yosuke…

"She's a secretary? Man, what is it that you do in here!?" Yosuke exclaimed to his partner who was rather cut-off guard by his intrigue, Igor explained for him.

"I am an observer of those who walk the Fool's path. With my services, I foster the potential of Wild Cards on their journey…" Igor told the group of his purpose and the Velvet Room.

"Wild Cards?" Yosuke wondered what Igor meant by that…

"It is the power that grants one to wield multiple personas, and grants them strength through bonds…" Margaret explained to ease his curiosity.

"It's the Persona ability I have…" The grey-haired protagonist stated to his team, Yosuke quickly comprehended what the long-nosed man meant by bonds…

"Bonds? Wait... you're saying that my partner's Personas get stronger because we're friends…?" Yosuke looked at Igor with a surprised look on his face.

"Precisely, his potential will greatly help you in the quest for truth…" The grinning Igor confirmed it with a nod of his head.

"By truth, You mean about who's doing the murders? Huh, I guess I was kinda right that this place helps you…" Chie chuckled as she told Yu with a gleeful look, it really seemed to him that if this is journey about uncovering truth, might as well be honest about almost everything with his friends…

"How do you guys help exactly?" Yosuke pressed the residents of the Velvet Room for more information about that, what kinda life did Yu live before coming to Inaba!?

"I am able to summon many existences that slumber inside the sea of his soul and fuse his weaker personas into stronger ones. My assistant, Margaret keeps them recorded in this book…" Igor explained to them about his guest, the Junes boy wondered if they can also grow even stronger to catch the killer with his help…

"Can you do the same for us?" Yosuke questioned the long-nosed man if he could, Igor responded to his inquiry.

"Back then of course, but time and resources are minimal at best nowadays…" Igor told the Persona users honestly while ignoring the pile of money that was clearly in the corner of the blank Velvet room. Running the Velvet Room as well as being a man of wealth and taste to keep this place fancy did have it's toll on the managing staff (Igor), Elizabeth and Theodore were always quick to throw away money they needed…

"Wait, what's with all this yen? ...Does he charge you to help out?" Chie turned toward the Leader with a skeptical look, the grey-haired boy was rather hesitant to answer that. He didn't want to make Igor seem greedy since he was being very useful support for him after all, but his awkward silence wasn't helping that... Both Margaret and Igor had sweat drops on their heads in reaction…

"This whole day for me is just weird, also where's Teddie again...?" Yukiko wondered and looked around the Velvet room a second time, suddenly there were the sounds of banging behind them, Teddie was on the other side of the door…

"Why can't I get in the cool room with Sensei!? I don't want to be left out!" Teddie's moaning was heard by everyone, he was helplessly banging against the Velvet Room door, Igor simply ignored it.

"It was nice meeting your friends, I shall continue to assist you. Your journey with those who seek truth has just become even more intimate, now they know about us in full… hmhm." Igor told the Wild Card very genuinely, the others didn't sense anything shady at all about this place, plus the extra support could be helpful to solve this case, well now that the Investigation Team knows about the Velvet Room too anyways…

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

The protagonist and his Persona decided to head home after going inside the TV World, they spent some time with both Dojima and Nanako in the living room… The Old Detective was looking at a newspaper while sitting on the couch…

"The 4th and the 5th… I think I might be able to get the 4th and the 5th off." Dojima stated to the two kids (and Persona) by the small table in front of the couch.

"Really!?" Nanako stood up from her pillow in astonishment of hearing her dad's words, Yu remembered this pretty clearly and it didn't particularly end well for Nanako… the grey-haired boy almost showed a sad expression on his face… Izanagi was by his side, and comforted him.

"Thou shouldn't be so sad by this, besides thou does become dear to Nanako in the near future…" The Japanese God stated, sitting on side of the table that faced the TV in the corner…

"...Really?" Nanako's face became sullen towards her father due to some broken promises in the past.

"What, you don't believe me?" Dojima asked her with concern. Yu felt awkward all the while…

"Well, there could have been a better way to get close to her…" Yu thought quietly to the Japanese God in response, feeling pretty trapped and frustrated by watching his younger cousin eventually become sad in the future…

"It's always canceled." Nanako expressed to her father with slight frustration and sadness…

"N-Not every year!" Dojima asserted so she wouldn't be upset… yeah, that ship sailed.

"I know you wanted to go to Junes, but I wouldn't mind going a little further out of the neighborhood." Dojima told her, Nanako wondered about what her dad's saying…

"Really? Can we go on a trip?" the young girl questioned her father on the couch…

"Uhh… Well, it might be okay to go on a trip once in a while. I'm sure it'll be crowded everywhere, though." Dojima responded to Nanako, not trying to get her hopes up… Yu really didn't feel good about this at all, but feigned a neutral expression…

"Yaaay! We're going on a trip!" Nanako jumped and clapped in joy from her spot…

"Hm... all right, all right. Then we need to think of someplace to go. How about you? You wanna come along with us?" Dojima turned his attention to his nephew who was still sitting at the table…

"Yeah! Let's all go together!" Nanako expressed to her older cousin at the table. He nodded yes slightly with a small smile… Izanagi put a comforting hand on his shoulder…

" _It's normal for an older brother to see his little sister upset, just make sure that thou cheers her up as her "big bro" and not run away, don't forget that…"_ The Japanese God told his user with a gentle tone, Yu looked at him with surprise and understood what he meant… Izanami… his sister… The grey-haired boy lightens up about his own situation with a truthful smile for the family to see…

" _Thanks…"_ Yu told Izanagi with his mind, the Japanese God nodded in response.

"Looks like Nanako wants us all to go." Dojima stated to his nephew with a smile, the grey-haired boy nodded over to him in agreement.

"Let's bring boxed lunches!" Nanako told them as she couldn't hold in all of her excitement…

"Hm? Yeah, good idea. We're always eating side dishes for dinner. But I can't cook… and Nanako's not good enough yet to make them by herself." Dojima agreed and thought of a solution…

"Well, it'll work out. That's what we've got this guy, huh Nanako?" Dojima stated to his daughter about the grey-haired boy, who was already a great cook by the start of the year…

"Yaaay, boxed lunches!" Nanako looked very thrilled for this… Her older cousin had been nominated to pack the family's food for the trip…

"A vacation, huh? Should we make reservations now?" Dojima expressed to the two kids with a happy look of his own…

"Vacation, vacation! I can't wait! You can bring your ghost friend too if he likes to go!" Nanako expressed happily to both Yu and Izanagi at the table, looking at her older cousin's surprised face and a seemingly empty spot at the table… which was where the Japanese God was…

" _It's almost like she can sense me…"_ An astonished Izanagi looked at the the young girl's cheerful face as she discussed the trip details with her dad on the couch…

" _She's becoming aware of you guys; I wonder how she'll react if she can see your form someday?"_ Yu thought with a smile, Izanagi looked worried for some reason…

" _I hope she'll like me…"_ Izanagi expressed genuinely to his user, Yu chuckled and patted his persona's back as a way to give him hope. Dojima watched all of this while addressing Nanako's excitement and is slowly becoming convinced that either him, his nephew, or even his daughter is becoming insane or developing a sixth sense…

* * *

Omake #8 ( **PERSONA 5 SPOILERS! STAY AWAY IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED!** ) – Goro Akechi's Wild Ride REDUX

…

[Cruise of Pride, Evening]

Inside the engine room of Shido's palace, Goro Akechi laid seemingly dead near the sealed-up metal door after sacrificing himself so the Phantom Thieves of Hearts could proceed to the treasure room… but suddenly!

"*large gasp for air* Oh God…!" Akechi opened his eyes to the bright lights of the engine room, he looked down his Black Mask suit… the bullet from that cognitive Akechi did not pierce his body… though, he was still in very much pain from that last battle he fought before all of this shit went down… He carefully looked around the place and found himself alone. It seems those mook shadows and that Cognitive Akechi had disappeared… he then sighed in relief…

"They're gone… hey, are you guys there?" Akechi spoke with a strained voice as he sat up and held his arm in pain… Soon after, a very stereotypical heroic-sounding voice rang inside the traitor's head…

"Are you okay Goro-san!?" Robin Hood showed the upmost worry for his user… unlike the other guy…

"Yes Robin, it's thanks to your quick thinking I was able to live through that…" Akechi softly spoke his everlasting gratitude to the Leader of the Merry Men, another voice rang in his mind…

"Then again if Goro's thinking had screwed up, we've would have died too, I'm glad you didn't… I guess…" Loki uttered to the fake detective prince like a huge asshole...

"In this cognitive world, I didn't think imagining that mockery's gun was fake at the last moment would work… Amazing…" The critically injured Akechi chuckled and stumbled onto his feet, he formed a weak smile on his face…

"Passing out at the right time helped convinced those lapdogs that you were a goner too, I have to admit… Robin… nice work." The God of mischief gives few words of praise towards Robin Hood…

"Oh, why thank you my good friend!" Robin Hood appreciated Loki's compliment with a good ol' thumbs up and a gleaming smile… Loki's reaction was pretty non-plussed, he folded his arms...

"*sighs* Don't push it…" A sweat drop formed on his head.

"Now it's time to get off this ship… though, it's not gonna be easy when I'm feeling very weak…" Akechi spoke through the pain, he turns around and gazes upon the large sealed door…

"Well, if we work together… We should be able to burst through that door…" Robin uttered to them as he looked on as well…

"Are you strong enough to summon anyone of us, Goro…?" Loki asked his user with impatience, Akechi was still weak from that last fight…

"I just need to heal first…" The Detective Prince quickly pulled out a small bead that contained healing power, he threw it above his head and fully healed himself…

Akechi and his personas then carefully examined the sealed door for any weak spots… After finding a certain spot high above the middle, Akechi quickly transformed into his regal prince attire…

"All right… Manifest!" Striking his signature pose, Akechi summoned his Persona Robin Hood behind him... Coming out from a burst of blue-colored flames, Robin waited for his command…

"Charge, Robin!" Akechi ordered the legendary thief with urgency, Robin Hood raised his large golden bow above Akechi's head and concentrated his user's spirit, putting a great amount of his energy into one single attack…

"BRAVE BLADE!" Akechi then quickly changed his mask to Loki, and summoned the Trickster God to unleash one of his more powerful slash attacks against the obstacle that contained them… Loki propelled his own red-hot sword with colossal force, completely destroying a large part of the steel door. After some of the smoke from the impact cleared up, they were pleased with successfully producing an opening to get out of the engine room…

"Okay, now let's get out of here…" Akechi quickly stumbled through the now broken large steel door, sluggishly making his way out to the side deck of Shido's cruise ship… After getting out, Akechi looked out from the side deck, it was twilight. He took a moment of contemplation and then calmly jumped onto the railing of the deck… He proceeded to look down to the ocean below, it was gonna be a long fall into the waters…

"I hope this doesn't kill us… I got shit to do like tomorrow, I have dreams and stuff…" Loki uttered to them with some fear in his voice… Akechi gulped as he mentally-readied himself to jump…

"It's really too bad that we don't have your swimsuit with us! Could have really used it right now!" Robin added to the moment with his hero-voice unfaltering…

"Well… Here's goes nothing!" Akechi exclaimed with determination and jumped from soon-to-be sinking ship, plunging at high speed into the water as the Cruise of Pride sailed on…

* * *

Author's Notes: Man, I got sick a second time but screw it! I'm done with this month! Onto the next month with Kanji Tatsumi! Though, it will be slow coming but not as much as this one due to me having to study for midterms.

\- Recap will come in a few days.


	33. Chapter 33

Volume I Recap – Chapter 33

Left some details out to make it just Yu's perspective so no major Chapter spoilers.

Also Bonus content at the bottom!

As Yu Narukami rode the train back home along with his initial Persona and one of the two Shinto Gods of Creation, Izanagi. As the train rode on, The Fool unexpectedly found himself within the mysterious Velvet Room once more... After being lectured by both Igor and Margaret about the "Truth" he and the Investigation Team managed to find turned out to be not being the "Full Truth" along with stating the consequences of not completing his journey. the residents of the Velvet Room decide to give their chosen Wild Card ONE MORE chance to prevent the Fog from returning to Inaba, sending Yu back one year earlier to reinvestigate with his friends…

Once settling inside the Dojima Residence, Yu is humorously prematurely reunited with Izanagi and the Investigation Team's Personas after suddenly having a partial awakening to his power for some unknown reason. While Yu slumbered in his first night back in Inaba, Izanagi and the rest of his Persona gang decided to go outside after inadvertently scaring the young girl of the house, eating Aiya Chinese delivery while also making a mess at Tatsuhime Shrine during their fun time… the Mysterious Fox was really not happy about that.

While asleep, The Wild Card has a very familiar dream with the ominous foggy path. He soon reached the end like he did before and confronted the Obscured Figure that was hidden in white fog within his dream. The Figure also possessed awareness of Yu's second cycle journey, it begins to taunt Yu to find the "Real Truth" that he had not done before. The two dueled within the dream. The Figure was very resistant against Yu's attacks and without his Persona, he knew it was a losing battle…

After coming to the defense of his user with help from the nature of being a Persona, Izanagi entered Yu's subconscious to even the fight against the Figure that lurked inside the fog… The Obscured Figure quickly recognized Izanagi's form and weirdly began to sound very delighted at the Persona's heighten power… The white fog in the dream soon covered everything, Yu wakes up with the Team's Personas by his side. The Personas asked Izanagi what had transpired inside his user's mind, The Japanese God remained reluctant to tell… after the first **eventful** day at Yasogami High, Izanagi bids farewell to his Persona team as they return to the sea of unconscious for the time being. The Japanese God soon returns as well inside Yu's subconscious.

In the next few days, Yu reunited with his class friends: Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and Yukiko Amagi. Their memories seemed to have been reset from the first cycle of the Journey. The initial trio hang out at the food court of Junes (a relatively new chain department store that is run by Yosuke's family), Yu reencounters Yosuke's senpai Saki Konishi who worked with him at Junes, it is later revealed by Chie that Yosuke harbors a large crush toward Saki, which Yu already knew about…

Later on, Chie tells them about the Midnight Channel, a mysterious television program that supposedly displays one's true love on a rainy night… but in reality, it was really showing someone in the focus of the public's thoughts and the next "target" to be put in…

After the strange rumors and the news of the Mayumi Yamano murder began to circle around Inaba, the soon-to-be Investigation Team had unwittingly (saved for Yu of course) ventured into the Midnight Channel after accidentally falling inside a flat screen in the Junes Department Store, they find themselves in a bizarre-looking world inside the TV. During their time inside, they come across an ominous room full of crazy shit that may or may not be linked to Mayumi Yamano's death. After returning to where they fell in initially, they meet a mysterious costume bear named Teddie, who lives inside the TV World.

After being let out by Teddie, the trio return home from that crazy and tiring experience.

Suddenly and without warning, the murder of Yasogami Senior Saki Konishi took place, leaving the enamored Yosuke devastated by the announcement of his senpai's death at School. Wanting to find the truth behind Saki's murder, Yosuke begs Yu to help him get back to the TV World since it had apparent ties to the murder of the Announcer so maybe they would find clues to Saki's death…

After negotiating with an untrusting Teddie who simply wished to live in peace within the TV world and discovering that both Yamano and Konishi were inside the TV at the time of their deaths, Yu and Yosuke agree to find the culprit that has been dropping innocent people inside to be left for dead. With Teddie's guidance, they entered the Twisted Shopping District (which was physically formed by Saki's inner psyche). The group is soon attacked by monstrous creatures that also exist in the Midnight Channel (known as Shadows) which prompts Yu to awaken his Persona ability and re-obtain Izanagi, He battles the shadows alongside Izanagi to protect the others. After emerging victorious against the foes, he receives praise from both Teddie and Yosuke for his newly awakened power. Teddie then speculates that Yu might be "the one" who can bring others into the TV… his words made Yu rethink by what he means exactly given how his last journey went…

Before Yu and the others headed into the dark reflection of the Konishi Liquor store that existed in the Twisted Shopping District, they hear ominous voices of discontent about the Junes Department Store being brought into Yaso-Inaba. Inside they begin to hear more familiar voices of disapproval towards Saki and her working at Junes. Overwhelmed by the unseen voices, Yosuke hears his dead Senpai's voice one last time and her genuine thoughts of annoyance towards everything including Yosuke, finding him to be a pain in the ass.

The Junes boy remained unbelieving that Saki had hated him after all their time together. Yosuke's own shadow (formerly known as Jiraiya) manifested itself inside the liquor store to confront Yosuke and his denial, alarming both him and the others. Shadow Yosuke revealed the inner truth that his other self was simply using Saki's death to venture into the bizarre world inside TVs because it was a thrilling escape from the boredom he feels of being forced into living in a small town. Yosuke begins to weakly argue against the shadow's accusations and profusely deny it as a part of himself, allowing Shadow Yosuke to develop a strong will that attracted nearby shadows to him…

As Shadow Yosuke transforms into a more powerful form after absorbing other weaker shadows, Yosuke became overwhelmed and faints… The Stupid-looking Magician Shadow proceeds to kill Yosuke, Yu then comes to the defense of his unconscious friend. While fighting each other, Shadow Yosuke manages to gain the upper hand in their battle, Jiraiya in his shadow form reveals his and Yosuke's secret feelings of resentment towards the pair of Fools. Realizing how his "partner" had truly felt during their journey together, Yu admitted that without Yosuke, him and Izanagi would be too weak to stand on their own and later vowed to become a more honest friend and true leader…

With a surprise super electric punch and teasing by Izanagi, they defeat Shadow Yosuke for good. The real Yosuke soon wakes up from not facing his true self (they actually do in P2, isn't that unfair?) and with words of encouragement from both Teddie and Yu, he then comes to accept his shadow as a part of himself, allowing to reawaken Jiraiya as a Persona. The two newly-minted persona users return back into the real world after strengthening their vows to Teddie to find the culprit throwing people in the TVs. The Reaper, a very powerful shadow that existed across different "nests" of Shadow Worlds. He Schemes on the behalf of a **Greater Power** closely watching the Investigation Team…

After getting back to the real world with Teddie's abilities, the boys get harshly scolded at by a teary-eyed Chie who believed they had perished when the safety rope she held was severed. The two partners and their personas decided to head home, becoming tired from all the TV exploration. After reaching his family's home and feeling down a little about Saki, Yosuke then unexpectedly meets his own Persona Jiraiya in an awkward shower scene. Getting familiar with each other, they come to an understanding with Jiraiya vowing to a determined Yosuke to get complete justice for Saki's death. While at the Dojima Residence, Yu realizes Nanako's growing curiosities of "ghosts" at their home. On the same night after seeing Yukiko on the Midnight Channel, Yu goes inside the Velvet Room where he learns about the crazy structure of his journey, if he falls in battle then the day he dies on will become renewed until he succeeds. Yu also learns more about Igor's former master Philemon, the entity responsible for restarting Yu's journey, or so he thinks… Margaret couldn't find her guest's Persona Compendium.

At School the next day, Yu formed a bond with Yosuke in their goal to find the culprit behind the murders all while Izanagi reexamines his feelings toward one of his many friends currently in the sea of souls… Yu and Yosuke apologize to Chie in class for what happened yesterday though the usually energetic girl seems more distressed by the fact that Yukiko hadn't arrived at school in morning. Growing scared by the fact they all had seen someone like their friend on TV last night, Chie hastily made phone calls to whoever and was able to reach her best friend working at the inn, putting her fears to rest for a while… The three decide to check with Teddie at Junes to make sure no one was thrown inside the TV. As it was gonna rain later tonight, they all agreed to check the Midnight Channel once more just to make sure… It is then revealed that Adachi himself is aware of past events…

Yu and Izanagi tune into the Midnight Channel, once again Yukiko's form appeared but it was really her shadow in a pink princess. After making some iffy comments and sultry motions with her body, Shadow Yukiko then announces for a "prince" to come and rescue her from the **large castle** in the distance… Yu then gets a phone call from an uneasy-sounding Yosuke about what they just saw and quickly agreed to meet at Junes tomorrow to see what they can do… Yu and Yosuke were escorted out of Junes to the Inaba police station due to the Junes boy's cluelessness with carrying weapons to the Food court, they get scolded by Dojima for their troubles. Yu and Yosuke then meet up with Chie at the station and quickly head over to a shop that sells weapons to minors. Knowing it was a dangerous trip, the two persona users try to talk Chie out of it but she remained stubborn to rescue Yukiko even without a persona ability. After buying their needed supplies for the Journey, the trio split up to prepare themselves for entering the TV World later. Yu entered the Velvet Room via a mysterious door in the Shopping District and meets a new face in the room alongside Igor and Margaret, a mysterious and also unfriendly girl named Marie who manages "skill cards" for any Personas that Yu wishes to grant new abilities to. Igor warns the Fool of a powerful omnipresent Shadow named The Reaper prowling about inside The TV World. Margaret still couldn't find her guest's compendium, she had the wrong one.

The next day, the trio had prepared themselves to enter TV World. Before heading out to rescue Yukiko, the Fool knew that Chie would still remain stubborn about her best friend even if he knew what dangers she was about to face. So he promises to protect her at any cost, making her feel easier about having someone with her. The group then stormed Yukiko's Castle soon after meeting up with Teddie. In a frenzy to find her best friend, Chie ran off deep inside the castle, the boys go after her in disbelief that she would be so careless. They quickly catch up to the spunky girl, who stood in the middle of a large room. While inside the large hall, they listen to Yukiko's true thoughts uttered with her voice about the friendship between herself and Chie, a friendship where Yukiko remarks that she's a weakling who needs Chie to make her life meaningful. Her wellbeing is completely dominated by Chie's sense to "protect" her. Unbelieving in the words uttered by Yukiko due to guilt. Chie is then confronted by her own shadow, formerly known as Tomoe. Shadow Chie reveal to the group that she really wasn't looking out for Yukiko but that she was actually trying to control her by dependence out of jealously. Chie denied all of this but her shadow knew what she truly felt inside. Shadow Chie grew much stronger in will and it eventually overwhelms her real-self, Yu and Yosuke rush to battle the shadow to keep her away from Chie.

Shadow Chie quickly exposes Yosuke's weakness and incapacitates him, leaving his partner to fend for himself against her… Believing that he and Jiraiya came up with the greatest plan to deal with Chie's shadow, Izanagi allowed himself to be held captive by the crazy dominatrix to reason with her because that made sense. Shadow Chie admits that she was enamored with Izanagi when she was Tomoe, and felt betrayed when he left along with his user, and also Yu not knowing of Chie's insecurities while they were in a romantic relationship in the past cycle… Izanagi admitted that he felt the same way about her but didn't realize it in time, the two personas got together but not in the way you would think. Yu watched helplessly as Izanagi was being merged inside Chie's shadow. Jiraiya with his quick thinking, woke Yosuke and the two exploited this chance to strike Shadow Chie down. With an all-out attack by Yu and Yosuke, they defeat the shadow. Chie wakes up after the battle, she confronts her shadow once more but remains hesitant to accept it as her true feelings. Getting support from the good friends around her, Chie finally does which allows her shadow become the persona Tomoe once again. Chie confesses to the others that she's remorseful about her actions toward Yukiko and admits that she truly cherishes her as a friend. The others pick her up and decide that it's best to leave the dungeon for now to come back at full strength to save Yukiko… Yu is elected to be the field leader of the newly formed Investigation Team founded by himself, Yosuke, and Chie. Back at home, Chie quickly becomes familiar with her persona and her weirdly eccentric playful demeanor. Yu ponders on about how much he was unaware about the feelings of others in the past…

later on, Chie and Tomoe reconcile with the others, their resolve to save Yukiko strengthen. Yosuke accidentally bumps into first year Yumiko Shirasagi, a new mysterious female student at Yasogami. Going through the castle dungeon, the newly formed team of persona users fight their way to Yukiko against multiple minion shadows and even the Reaper… for a little bit. They burst through the throne room and find Yukiko with her shadow that had been taunting the others the whole time. Shadow Yukiko begins to whine about her real self's thoughts of being trapped at managing her family's inn, and to no surprise Yukiko denies her shadow, allowing the being formerly known as Konohana to become stronger. The three persona users do battle with Shadow Yukiko, who is spiteful of Yu for rejecting Yukiko in the past. After a surprising revelation (Read:"Daughter-Zoned") from Izanagi to Shadow Yukiko in a fiery pit, allows both Tomoe and Chie to snag a kick to victory. After rescuing Yukiko, Konohana later reconciles with everyone except Jiraiya. Yu meets the same mysterious girl that Yosuke met at the family dinner with Adachi, he finds her to be an odd person but friendly. Later the Fool is contacted while dreaming by the former Velvet Room master, Philemon about his journey and learns that the entity that once destroyed the world, is keeping Adachi on a leash from going rogue. Yu and Izanagi spend the rest of April hanging with usual friends from the past cycle along with new ones like Marie and Yumiko.

Back at home and resting, Yukiko and Konohana spend quality time together. In the very final days of the month, Yukiko comes back to school and joins the Investigation team, Konohana soon comes to terms with both Izanagi and the others, they decide to help each other in their personal journeys.

Yu's list of possible "time" suspects in the first volume:

 **The Investigation Team** ("Is there a traitor in our midst...? Probably not...")

Yu Narukami - "Wait? Did Izanagi put me on here as a joke?"

Yosuke Hanamura - "He's been with me since the beginning and He's my best friend, but even I thought he was the killer at some point."

Chie Satonaka - "My girlfriend during my time at Inaba, It's weird to put Chie on here... I do believe she wants to protect everyone but even I think she would go far for meat, sorry Chie my love!"

Yukiko Amagi - "I thought the same about Yukiko as with Yosuke, she's too silly to actually do it though. What if...? Nah."

 **TV World** \- ("It's a mysterious place still...")

Teddie - "I don't think he would do it either, He's a shadow but like the rest of them, he's still my friend."

 **Yasogami High** \- ("School of many gods and weirdos...")

Kou Ichijo & Daisuke Nagase - "They share a spot because they're always seen together... Did they...? I don't think so."

Ayane Matsunaga - "I just met her at music club, she's very different from Yumi but I'm still baffled by how different she looks... those cheeks are cute but not normal."

Yumiko Shirasagi - "Mysterious girl who looks a lot like me in appearance and is also living in the care of Adachi, the culprit of the TV murders himself. While I do have my suspicions, she seems like a nice girl."

 **Velvet Room** -("They're the Big Good of my adventure here...")

Marie - "Despite being unfriendly, I'd still like to trust her since she's new. I wonder if she's any good at poetry..."

 **Personas** \- ("Izanagi and pals.")

Izanagi - "My persona, that's payback for putting ME on here! Probably. He is the one I trust the most... I mean he is me in a way."

Jiraiya - "A trollish toad of a man. Made Nanako scared... also made my get Chinese take-out for him in the middle of the night. I'm surprised that delivery girl Aika was super understanding, bless her heart."

Tomoe - "Chie's Persona, She's very like her master, nice but I better make Chie happy or else I get the God's Hand... I was the first one she told that she liked Izanagi."

Konohana Sakuya - "I get the feeling she doesn't like me and I understand why... I hope someday we can be sorta friends..."

* * *

Update 1.2 is out, check profile for details.

Author's notes: Sorry for being so late. Shit at school is catching up but I did manage to lay the foundation for the next volume.

Head Canon: I'd like to think Aika Nakamura as part Chinese.

 **SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI V IS NOW OFFICIALLY A THING!**

I want to do a special for 30000 views, can't thank everyone enough! seriously Thank you! :)


	34. Chapter 34

Some Lost Memories and an Old Bamboo Comb – Chapter 34 [Volume II]

{May 1, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Dojima Residence, Daytime]

Since there was no school today, Yu Narukami decided to spend this Sunday with his Persona Izanagi however he liked. The grey-haired protagonist was in the middle of getting on his casual winter clothes while Izanagi leaned on Yu's door with his arms folded, looking out the window to the rural countryside…

"The Midnight Channel isn't coming on until after a while, what are thou going to do today…?" Izanagi inquired to Yu as he finished up getting dressed for the day…

"Hmm, I'm not sure yet…" Yu remarked to his Persona as he looked out the window too. Suddenly, the flip phone in Yu's pocket began ringing, he pulled it out to see that it was Chie calling him…

"Oh hello? It's me, Chie. Do you have time to go inside the TV today? Now that Yukiko's with us, I think it might be good for her to get some experience being in that place. Just give us a call if you want to go. See ya!" Chie's cheerful voice was heard by the two, the grey-haired protagonist closed his phone and returned back into his pocket. He went over to the TV set in the room and checked the weather for the next seven days… it was gonna rain on Monday.

"We'll go inside the TV tomorrow to train the others, and defeat any strong Shadows lurking around…" Yu stated to Izanagi as began remembering that one menacing Shadow that took over Yukiko's Castle… The Contrarian King.

"With my current self at thy side, thou are powerful enough to defeat this shadow more quickly than before…" Izanagi told the Yu, showing confidence in his tone… The Japanese God then walked toward Yu and faded with a bluish aura inside his body…

"Alright, let's go!" Yu stated to himself, he walked out the door and checked-in with his cousin Nanako in the living room watching TV by the table. Yu then quickly existed the Dojima Residence to go around the town…

* * *

[Central Shopping District – South: Daidara's Metalworks, Daytime]

Yu and Izanagi headed inside the workshop of Master Daidara. The two were shopping for armor and accessories for their "new" party member Yukiko. Yu quickly got a Fire Vow but then noticed something in particular. Behind the Counter, Master Daidara had stopped working on making a new sword with the new materials brought in by city boy. Daidara examined him with a serious eye as he looked around his shop. Daidara noticed that Yu had a surprised look on his face as he began to notice some particular "high-level" weapons, armor, and accessories all on display…

"That's strange…" The grey-haired boy thought in his mind as he looked around the shop, the Master blacksmith began to speak to Yu sternly…

"You… did you come from the city? That degenerate, city…? I lived there, too, once… When I was young and naive, a mere stripling, still wet behind the ears. Here, the air and the water and the light are more pure. I've forgotten everything from my time in that hell." Daidara remarked jadedly, Yu perked up as he heard Daidara's words from the counter.

"Well I don't think it's that bad… gotta admit though, I do feel at home in this place too. It's kinda odd of a feeling you know? It feels good to be here, Hehe." Yu answered Daidara with an awkward chuckle while itching his cheek slightly.

"Hmm…" Master Daidara scowled at him but seemed to get what the boy was saying in a way. He then continued work to forging a new sword for him.

Yu continued to eye some of the "art" great armor sets of Full Jin-Baori and Haten Robes, along with a whole collection of weapons used previously by the Team. How in the world did Daidara's stuff carry over!? That's awesome!

"I noticed you have some masterpieces that I've seen before, I would like to buy them…" Yu tried to maintain a usual calm demeanor over this awesome new revelation. Though it's kind of hard to because life was becoming so much easier for him in this fresh reality or "second play through" or whatever you want to call it…

"Hmm? Seen before…? Well, whatever. If you have the money, this art is yours to wield but remember, use my art with purpose and conviction, not mindless violence…" Daidara announced to him, the grey-haired boy nodded.

"I will…" Yu took the gear he wanted and went over to the counter to pay with his stuffed wallet.

"This is so strange, why has this large selection of weapons and armor just suddenly come back on this day? I mean we helped him create all of that "art" before right…?" Izanagi curiously asked his user.

"Yeah, it's weird, but it's a big help to us either way. It'll make our future battles go more smoothly…" Yu told his Persona with a cheerful look on his face, they made their way out of Daidara's Metal Works.

"The world must have changed again, it's slowly becoming a reality that is cozier for us than before…" Izanagi spoke again, rather curious of what's behind the next corner…

* * *

[Central Shopping District, Daytime]

"Even if we're not hitting the TV today, Yukiko should at least be prepared…" As he spoke, Yu began strolling up North of the Shopping District with the ghostly form of Izanagi following him closely, as they continued their casual walk on the uphill road to where the soda machine rested at the end of the block, suddenly from outta nowhere, a student from a rival school who isn't definitely involved in the case later on starts barking at them.

"The police still haven't caught the killer? Those idiots! Can't they do anything right!? I tell ya, the world is chock-full of idiots! Take those morons that ride around on bikes in the middle of the night for example! Guys like that can't do anything without each other! They're worthless! And lemme tell ya…" Mitsuo Kubo complained to our grey haired protagonist since he didn't recognize him from their first meeting, though Yu looked like he didn't really want to talk to him.

"Well this is awkward…" Yu thought out to Izanagi while looking like he was paying his full attention to Kubo because he didn't want to be rude.

"Did thou accidentally press X during thy walk…?" Izanagi suggested with a perplexed look on his face, his hand on his chin.

"Wait… What?" Yu was pretty baffled by what his persona had said, this is real life right?

"Ah just, never mind…" The Japanese God spoke with a very trivializing tone… The student from a rival school ranted on and on. Yu manages to escape somewhere between "Why women of today are awful…" and "Why newer tabletop games are all terrible." The two headed back to the South of the Shopping District, leaving Mitsuo to his own devices.

"Geez, why don't we just take care of him now so we don't deal with him later?" Yu uttered in his mind to his persona as they walked back…

"How do we do that? If he hasn't murdered thy teacher and if that event doesn't happen in our timeline, we can't meet Naoto under the same circumstances and we won't be able discover the Truth like before. For example, we can't even go after Nametame until it's time to…" Izanagi explained to his user, floating behind him.

"Oh… Good point, but does King Moron really have to die for this can't we just try to save him at least?" Yu wondered to his persona, Izanagi pondered what to say…

"Well… Things happen for a "reason" and we move on…" Izanagi uttered rather bluntly, the grey-haired protagonist gave him a puzzling look.

"That's odd of you to say, Izanagi. Things that are awful in our lives won't ever change if we don't try to actively change them…" Yu argued a bit, though not trying to sound too assertive. Just being a bystander and watching his own story play out before him was tiring, it's like watching a movie again because you didn't see the ending, it's tedious. Yu wishes for change to happen… but why?

"It's just a bad a feeling I have, we can't mess things up in our favor. I apologize if this upsets thou… thou must understand… that things happen for a reason." Izanagi stated once more, apologizing to his user profusely.

"Let's just go to the Velvet Room, see what's there for us today…" Yu told Izanagi with a slightly exasperated tone as they headed to the Velvet Door near the end of the block. Surprsingly, Marie was standing by said glowing blue door with impaitentence of that of a child…

"Oh… You're here. I've been waiting for you. Hey, why don't you take me somewhere? I don't know the area. You know your way around, right?" Marie beamed her eyes toward the taller boy with anticipation. It seems Marie wants to go out…

"Sure, I guess. I don't really have anything planned for today." Yu uttered somewhat indifferently to Marie while rubbing his neck from stiffness.

"Yeah, let's go! Today, I want to go to a lively place. I want to go to "Joo-nes." I heard about that place." Marie exclaimed as the two of them began walking together…

* * *

[Junes - Electronics department, Daytime]

Yu was dragged here by an excited Marie... The two teens walking in the TV section, before them was one of many flat screens on display. Marie was curious of what the heck went on before they got there, a lot people at Junes were rushing to get something…

"Hey, what happened just now? "Time Sale" …? Everyone was rushing to grab something called "sallah drezzing?" Whatever it is, it must be worth fighting for." Marie looked at Yu very convinced of this, the grey-haired boy grew sweat drops in confusion at the girl's odd way of thinking.

"By comparison, she makes thou seem normal…" Izanagi added quietly inside Yu's head. Suddenly, Yu and Izanagi hear a familiar voice from a distance.

"Hey, Yu-kun! What a coincidence! What are you doing here?" Chie came running to them as she noticed their team leader, Chie had a smile on her face, she noted that Yu was with someone else.

"Who's this girl? She's so cute." A surprised Chie noticed the Girl in the blue hat standing with them.

"This is Marie." Yu quickly introduced Marie, the trendy girl was caught off guard by the abruptness. Marie noticed Chie standing before her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Marie looked perplexed by the other girl, Chie smiled.

"Marie-chan, huh? Ooh, that's a nice name. Oh, I'm Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you!" Chie stated cheerfully to Marie. The trendy girl was lost for words.

"Okay…" Marie seemed nervous around other people, the other two noted this behavior. Marie turned herself around and noticed the big flat screen before her.

"I know what this is. It shows a lot of stuff." Marie stared into the big TV.

"Oh, you came to look at the TVs, too? Yeah, I want one, too. We still haven't replaced our old one." Chie came up to Marie and the big flat screen.

"I-I don't want one! I don't, but…" Marie thought for a moment, and then something came to mind.

"Maybe… Can you turn it to "StarScandalz?" Marie stated to Chie, Yu wondered what the heck that was and how the hell did watch TV in the Velvet room.

"What kind of show is that…?" Yu curiously asked Marie, she turned toward Yu to explain.

"Huh? It's, like... One of those shows, right? The ones where they're all like "blah de blah de blah." Marie vividly explained to the grey-haired boy.

"Everybody watches it. Margaret told me that." For some reason, Marie seems proud as she spoke... Yu and Izanagi were still pretty baffled by what the odd girl was saying. Marie seems interested in the TV...

"So, how do you watch it?" Marie questioned with some curiosity.

"Well, you press the power button on the side or front to switch it on. Next you can just press the other buttons that are marked with the words Channel, go up or down to find whatever that show you watch…" Yu explained in detail with a demonstration by pointing all over the flat screen in front of them.

"Huh!? Are you one of those people who doesn't watch TV!?" Chie was stunned to hear something like that about Marie.

"There isn't one in the room." Marie casually explained to the girl in green.

"Really!? Wow. You must have super-strict parents." Chie added.

"Girl, I don't think I could stand it. Life without Kung Fu movies...Brr!" Chie exclaimed with a wince.

"Oh… But there's no "eclectic loutwits" in that room." Marie stated with childish pronunciation.

"Remember… She said the word "Nostalgic" once… I remember…" Izanagi indicated inside Yu's head.

"There's has to be at least a couple, how is she watching shows like that?" Chie wondered with an inch on her head.

"I'll tell The Nose to install one of those "eclectic loutwits." There's nothing to do in there!" Marie with determined eyes marched off from the Electronics section of Junes, quickly leaving both Yu and Chie behind.

"Hey, wait, Marie-chan!? …You don't even have electricity in your room!?" Chie was baffled along with Yu. Like seriously, how can Margaret even watch TV?

* * *

[Junes, Food court – Daytime]

Yu came with Marie and Chie, they sat at a round table full of food each of them from Junes... save for Chie.

"Whew, that was the good stuff. Satisfaction! I haven't had the steak here in a while, but it really isn't all that bad." Chie let off of sigh of relaxation after eating plenty of steak from her dish. The meat-loving Girl then noticed that Marie and Yu haven't touch their food, the reality is it's only been 2 minutes and Chie is a really fast eater…

"Marie-chan, you haven't eaten at all. You, too, Yu-kun. You've gotta eat if you want to grow up big and strong. Just kidding, haha!" Chie added with a teasing laugh.

"You eat too fast… You're gonna be fat one day." Marie casually stated to Chie, causing her and Tomoe inside her mind to be self-conscious about their bodies and Yu and Izanagi to wince.

"I didn't need to hear that!" Chie exclaimed with paranoia, she got up from her seat.

"Uh… I'll go get us some drinks! O-Oolong tea sounds good." Chie runs off quickly to soda machine for fat reducing tea.

"There's a lot of people at this "Joo-nes" place. Why? Don't they anything else to do? If they have TVs, they should be watching them instead of wasting time here." Marie spoke at the table, Yu wonders if there was anything better to do in Inaba, He's got nothing except fishing.

"Well… I guess…" Yu utters under his breath. A young boy runs near their table suddenly, looking at the food stand from a distance.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty! I wanna soda!" The boy begged his mother who came walking behind, Marie watch them curiously, Yu noticed the look on face… longing.

"No. You just had one. You'll have to wait." His Mother told her son.

 **"** I wannit, I wannit!" The Child whined to his mother.

 **"** I said no. You'll rot your teeth." His Mother remained stern with her son. Marie continued to watch the mother and son as they left...

"Hey...Do you think I was ever like that?" Marie asked the grey-haired boy.

"You don't remember?" Yu stated with curiosity, well she certainly isn't human but everyone has some creator.

"Yeah. There's a lot I don't remember...Everything." Marie looked serious...

"I don't remember anything. I was just walking...I had nowhere to go, and I just ended up in that car. Then Margaret told me to stay there. She also gave me the name "Marie" …It'd be hard to get around without a name." Marie tells Yu how she came to the Velvet Room. Yu had previously speculated that she is definitely not just some "ordinary" Velvet Attendant.

"So you can't remember anything?" Yu added, trying learn as much as he could about her.

"I don't need to." Despite her casual words, Marie had a concerned expression...

"But...I don't know why, but this town is familiar to me." Marie's eyes were interested as to why that was. Yu grew somewhat curious of that; he's never seen around before in the past cycle of the year.

"Do you remember anything else?" Yu furthered questioned.

"...I don't know. The only thing I remember-or more like "know"-is that this is mine." Marie stood up and brought out something from her bag, an old bamboo comb in her hand…

"I had this from the start. This is definitely mine. But...so what? This doesn't help anything…" Marie confided in Yu about her memory... Izanagi noticed the old bamboo comb in Marie's hand from inside of Yu's mind.

"This Comb…" Izanagi carried seriousness in his tone, the grey-haired boy noticed his persona's shocked words.

"Something wrong Izanagi…?" Yu mentally asked Izanagi with concern, there's something going on with that comb…

"…" Izanagi remained quiet. Marie spoke to Yu once more with some surprising words.

"You're search for the "truth," right…? …You should stop. There's no such thing." Marie told the leader of the Investigation Team, Yu was blanked face.

"…" The grey-haired boy grew suspicious of Marie; he did not allow it to show on his face, Marie sat herself down again at the table.

"...This conversation's boring. Let's talk about something else." Marie stated with jaded eyes… silence remained.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! The shop was busy, so I just ordered and came back here. They'll bring it to us when it's ready." Chie came walking back to the table with a smile but then notices the mood atmosphere, Yu's eye were tense while Marie's were full of disinterest.

"Uhh… Is it me, or is the mood a bit heavy around here? D-Don't worry, you two! I ordered for all of us! Oolong tea for everybody!" Chie exclaimed nervously, trying to bring the mood around her up. After talking with Marie and Chie, Yu escorted Marie back to the Velvet Room...

* * *

Omake #9 – The Childhood of Two Creative Twins – (Part 2)

{Unknown Date, but when the Sea of the Unconscious was still pretty **Chaotic** …}

Lazily laying down on the white cloudy plains of the cognitive Japanese Heaven, the child versions of Izanagi and Izanami gazed up at the "night-like" sky together… Izanagi was always pretty perplexed as to why everything was so dark all the time…

"Being unable to see everything really is troublesome, I keep bumping into things…" Izanagi grimaced as he sat up from the clouds. The young male kami rubbed his forehead with a cold wet cloth because of a bruise he got from accidentally running into something, Izanami snickered at her brother and his misfortune in good fun…

"That's what you get for running around Nagi! You almost made me trip too!" Izanami seemed miffed as she sat up from her own spot in the clouds. She began wagging her finger at him. The two twins were with their mother for the rest of the day as other lower heavenly kami began working on fixing up the crack in the wood Izanagi had made with his head on one of the shrine entrance pillars… this all happened just a short distance away from where they were.

Izanagi and Izanami's mother was tending to a patch of tall bamboo that grew out from the clouds like soil… The mother carefully removed bits of bamboo from the roots with a small knife she had, it seemed that their mother planned to use it for something. Izanami observed her mother and became curious of what she was doing while her brother Izanagi continued tending to his forehead, the mother of the twin kami had given him the cold wet cloth so it wouldn't hurt that much…

"Hey mom, what are you doing?" Izanami asked her mother, who was the goddess of the Universe. Like her children, she had long grey-colored hair and was much taller than an average human. Their mother also wore a metal mask that concealed her whole face like many of the other heavenly kami except for children like Izanagi and Izanami who weren't old enough to wear them. Kuninotoko was her name.

"Hmm? Oh! N-Nothing much! I simply needed this bamboo to craft…" Kuninotoko timidly reacted to her young daughter's simple question, she was a very soft-spoken woman… The Mother Goddess hid her knife and some of the bamboo within her golden robe from her children's eyes. It was pretty obvious that she was hiding something more about it…

"Really? What are you making mom?" Izanagi grew curious of his mother too as he managed to ease some pain from his forehead. Their mother sighed in defeat as she wanted to do this unseen by her children (who were also grounded for the shrine incident). Kuninotoko warmly smiled underneath her mask to the children's curiosities and approached them to explain. She sat herself down between both her kids on the white cloudy plains…

"I'm hand-making a gift for a special occasion, that is all…" Kuninotoko spoke and then affectionately began to ruffle the grey-hair on both her children's heads. The twin kami were confused as to what she meant by special… an anniversary?

"Well, is it for Dad?" The curious Izanami questioned once more as she gazed into the look of her mother's glee-filled eyes inside her mask…

"Oh no… but it's a surprise for the coming future!" Kuninotoko answered the young female kami with some added cheerfulness in her tone… the twins were still confused as to what she meant but decided to honor the surprise…

"I guess we can find out about it later, I hope we'll be able to see whatever it is in this nice "light" we have here…" Izanagi grumbled about the dark starry sky that covered their cognitive heaven, he'll never forgive it for the pain it caused him…

"Oh that's right, Nagi wondered why it's always so dark… again." Izanami remembered her earlier conversation with Izanagi and told her mother as if the younger female kami already knew why it was always "night" ...unlike her brother. Kuninotoko began to look very bewildered by her son's lack of knowing something so simple…

"Izanagi! Have you not been listening to the lectures of the five elders? They have already told you countless times!" Kuninotoko somewhat scolded her youngest son. Izanami also was always the more attentive twin while Izanagi was always daydreaming. The young male kami made an excuse to his mom…

"I-I forgot! M-Must have hit my head too hard on the sacred pillar! Yeah, that's it!" Izanagi told Kuninotoko with some believability in his voice, it was acted pretty well. His mother simply sighed in annoyance. The Goddess of the Universe comically began mushing the cheeks her son's face together with her hands in frustration while Izanami chuckled at all of it… Kuninotoko soon released of her son's face from her grasp.

"Izanami, please make sure that your brother is a lot more careful next time…" Kuninotoko told her youngest daughter who agreed that she would. Izanami had a rather teasing smile aimed at her brother, Izanagi stuck his tongue out at his sister for tattling on him, Izanami did the same back at Izanagi for making her run in wooden geta. Their mother once again sighed in exasperation at the behavior of her beloved kids…

"For reference, it is my sister-in-law who provides the small stars that you see in our dark sky… Even if it's a dim light, we are all grateful to her for it. Please be more considerate Izanagi, Izanami." Kuninotoko lectured the children for her own sanity's sake, both kids started to look up at the dark sky to see those stars with some newfound insight. Their auntie was actually the Goddess of the all-stars… the two young kami felt very small in comparison to their elders.

"Do you understand? Okay then, now let us go home my precious children! It's time for your supper…" Kuninotoko slowly stood up from the cloudy plains, she made the path for them to return home. Izanagi and Izanami soon followed their mother back to the "Celestial Palace" of the Mikoto…

"Hey Nami, wasn't it breakfast time a while ago?" Izanagi whispered to his sister behind their mother as they roamed among the clouds…

"Hehe you're right Nagi, even our mom can't tell what time it is!" Izanami whispered back to Izanagi in surprise as they strolled amongst the clouds…

* * *

Author's Note:


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Yukiko's Castle Extra Boss: Emperor Arcana, The Contrarian King/Hunger Rank 2

{May 2, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Yu Narukami's Room, Midnight]

After getting into his sleeping clothes, Yu sat down on the black-colored love seat in his room, he let out a yawn.

"So what was so special about Marie's comb? Is it something to worry about?" Yu curiously asked the Japanese God who casually floated like a ghost in front of him.

"No… But…" Izanagi hesitated to speak his mind…

"What was it about that old comb that startled you so much"?" Yu questioned Izanagi of what he meant.

"I had the EXACT SAME COMB! In my youth anyways…" Izanagi exclaimed rather astonished that Marie had an identical bamboo comb like the one he had that is totally not related.

"Is that all? I mean Marie said that was the only thing she remembered having…" Yu rubbed his right eye from sleep.

"Well that is odd… Bamboo Combs were gifts between lovers in my time… My creator told me once that beautiful hair can make any women beautiful, So I always combed Izanami's hair everyday so that she would always be the most beautiful."

"Creator? Also I never knew that, whatever happened to your comb?" Yu grew somewhat interested in Izanagi's story.

"I burned it when I was trying to get her back from the shadow world, it was dark down there so I used it as a torch to see… and well…" Izanagi trailed off, Yu realized why he did…

"Oh… so that's how it's happened… Sorry, I didn't mean to pry…" Yu apologized sheepishly, his persona simply waved it off.

"It's fine really, let's get some sleep we'll figure out what's unique about Marie's comb…" Izanagi faded away and now rested inside Yu's head. The grey-haired protagonist readied his futon for the night…

* * *

{May 3, 2011} {Rainy}

Yu Narukami with his white umbrella and school bag walked to Yasogami's entrance for the day to start. Suddenly, Yu turned his head to see Yukiko Amagi running up to meet him, with a red umbrella in hand matching her cardigan…

"Good Morning." Yukiko greeted Yu as they stopped right on the school entrance.

"It's raining. It's not going to last past nightfall, though. Every time it rained while I was "over there," you must have been…" Yukiko's eyes lowered in guilt, she then realized how she was sounding.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gloomy." Yukiko apologized vehemently to the transfer student with a wide-eyed look Narukami playfully waved it off.

"I know! Golden Week starts tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans?" Yukiko asked with a smile.

"I have plans with my Uncle and Cousin…" Yu replied with a somewhat sad look, Poor little Nanako.

"I-I see. That must be tough." Yukiko noticed how Narukami came off as a little down about it.

"But, at least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. It'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit "over there" once in a while so we can become stronger." Yukiko suggested to the leader of the Investigation Team. The two began walking into the school ground…

* * *

[Class 2-2, Afternoon]

Mr. Morooka with a big vein popped out on his head went on his usual and colorful lectures while the students make the feeble attempt to actually listen. Some students like Chie were very bored out of their minds during this. Yosuke and others were trying to stay awake but their sleep restriction from early school mornings was really hitting hard today. Yukiko and a few took notes during the lecture but the Amagi girl was trying to piece together a cooking recipe for something but the list of ingredients confused even ME! Yu was the sole student to make honest effort to listen to King Moron even if it was extremely pointless to.

"I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Golden Week, but don't forget that first and foremost, you're students! Your duty is to study! You don't have time to fool around, alright!? Do not misunderstand what freedom means! It does not mean that you can live without taking responsibility!" Morooka shouted at the students with his signature harsh tone about being responsible students and members of society.

"Even Pythagoras said, "As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom!" Next order of business! Midterms are coming up next week! The results will be posted to humiliate low-scoring losers! If you don't want to be shamed, study hard! It's that simple! If you do well, who knows!? You may become a more popular cretin! And you know, popularity leads to intimacy! On top of that, my reputation goes up. It's a win-win situation, people! Like I said, study hard!" As Morooka spoke, the ears of the students twitched at the uttering of "Midterms" from the all so pleasant King Moron! Chie, Yosuke and others began to look visibly panicked because they have to get ready for next week's exam as both Yu and Yukiko start reviewing notes by themselves…

* * *

[Yasogami High – Classroom Building 2nd floor, After School]

It was still rainy…

After many of the students packed up and left, Yu had just finished up reviewing his notes from classes today. Chie and Yukiko said their goodbyes to him as they went, Yosuke already left for an early shift at Junes. The transfer student from the city neatly packed and organized his paperwork inside his book bag before getting up from his desk and leaving too…

"I predict that this upcoming examination of what thou have learned in the past days will be fairly trivial and easy!" Izanagi chirped cheerfully and confident inside the head of his user.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that!" Yu smiled with confidence as he mentally spoke with his persona. He walked out the door of the classroom and somewhat surprisingly, his kohai Yumiko from class 1-2 was waiting on him. Yumiko lit up with a cheerful expression as she noticed him outside the back end door of the classroom.

"Hey Senpai! I was wondering if you wanted to spend time with me for bit… I'd like to speak with you about something." Yumiko asked her senpai as she approached him from the window side of the school hallway.

"Hmm… It's thou call on how to go about this, either spend time with thy pupil or go inside the TV world…" Izanagi stated, Yu thought for a second before taking too long but Yumiko already beat him it.

"I promise not to take up too much of your time if you have plans later…" Yumiko showed Yu a pleasant and considerate expression, she placed her hands behind her back with a cute tilt of the head.

"Well sure! Where would you like to go?" Yu agreed and asked his kohai about where she'd like to talk.

"The hill near Samagawa Floodplain…" Yumiko answered with an excited tone for the occasion. The two friends walked down the stairs to the first floor of the classroom building, Yu and Yumiko both got their shoes from their personal lockers. Yu readied his white umbrella, he then noticed the first year girl was without one…

"Want to share the space under the umbrella? How'd you get to school without getting wet?" Yu was pretty curious about that and presented the odd girl his own umbrella for use.

"Eh, I don't mind the rain so getting drenched isn't a big deal… but I also don't mind if we shared a close space together senpai~" Yumiko stood right next to her senpai so he'd get the message, Izanagi chimed in at that moment.

""I'm getting flashbacks of miss rise-san." The Japanese God uttered inside Yu's Head, the two walked outside and into the rain…

"Don't remind me…" Yu responded back, remembering his clingy idol friend.

* * *

[The hill overlooking town, After School]

The rain kept pouring down. The two kids went under the wooden shelter nearby to take a break from walking in the rain. Yu and Yumiko sat at the wooden table underneath the shelter… the two watched down pour quietly.

"Why did you want to come here?" Yu asked Yumiko next to him, she continued to watch the rain…

"I wanted a somewhat reclusive space to talk…" She turned her head toward him with a smile.

The silence between them rose for a time…

"I see something in you senpai, great potential…" Yumiko added to break the silence, the grey-haired boy raised an eyebrow at what she meant by that.

"Potential…?" Yu uttered to her, rather a little confused.

"You're new to a place like Inaba, right? Since you transferred here from the big city…" Yumiko said in a pretty relaxed tone, swinging her legs on the table bench.

"I guess; I came here when I was very little… My mother came to her family here; she was born here." Yu told her somewhat like a confession, he couldn't reminisce about the first time he because he was a toddler… wonder if his still had the weird 90s hair like in an old photo he found around the Dojima residence.

"Is that so? I always lived here…" Yumiko passively stated, Yu noticed that her face had a neutral expression… what she said next caught him by surprise a little.

"…Do you feel alone sometimes, senpai?" Yumiko asked curiously, she faced the rain continuing to pour down, the raindrops continued to sound above the shelter… silence returned for a bit.

"Well, ever since I came here, I feel kind of different from when I was in Tokyo… I can't really describe it but it's a good feeling…" Yu explained in the best way he could to his kohai, this place really did change who he was before…

"But yeah, I do feel alone sometimes. Growing up, my parents would always work but… when they were around for occasions, I didn't feel it as much… I felt content…" Yu told her with a small smile, Yumiko looked a little surprised to hear that…

"Content… so you don't feel alone when people are around you…" Yumiko stated to him with clear understanding, Yu nodded in affirmation.

"I guess you're like me; I grew up alone without parents… even in this humble place where everyone knows each other, a small town…" Yumiko confessed, Yu wondered what her life was like before.

"I don't know why but I feel less alone when I'm with you, you're different compared to others." Yumiko added as she faced away and started watching the rain again.

"I want to understand others; I know this might sound odd but I feel like it's my duty to. I want to make everyone happy…" Yumiko told Yu her most deep desire, Yu thought it felt a little cliché but he understood.

"You're the friendliest, compassionate, and hardworking. Such qualities that many people like, you help them realize what really matters… they become better people because of you…" Yumiko complimented her senpai, Yu waved it off with a smile.

"How did you know?" Yu was curious how she knew so much about him…

"I watch you… B-But not like in a weird way, ok!? J-Just when I'm passing by!" Yumiko waved both her hands at Yu in a panic, the grey-haired boy chuckled.

"Will you help me understand people?" She pleaded to him with hands clasped, Yu pondered for a bit.

"I'll give it a shot." Yu told her with a small smile.

"Thank you senpai! I lov-! I-I mean you're so awesome!" Yumiko retracted from saying anything too much from the heart, she stood up from the bench, Yu looked up at her.

"I know you have somewhere to be… So for time's sake, that's all I wanted to say! Bye!" Yumiko waved off before cheerfully skipping in the rain, Yu just worried that she might get sick…

* * *

[Yukiko's Castle, After School]

After making their way back up to the top, the newly filled Inaba Investigation Team took a breather from fighting all sorts of shadows found in the castle, including those rare Gold hands. A tired Yu leaned up against the castle wall before the big set of doors before the Throne Room…

 _*Breathing Heavily*_ "Man, I don't remember those being that tough. They use to drop chest keys too…" Yu caught his breath as he sat down on the rugged floor for a minute, laying his sheathed katana by his side.

"Those Shadows even resisted my own attacks, and I'm in prime form…" Izanagi stood next to Yu by the wall with folded arms, resting.

"D-Did You say something Yu-kun…?" Yukiko was plopped on the floor, exhausted from intense training up for what lied ahead. A standing Konohana Sakuya was in front of her and handed Yukiko a Tap Soda can to refresh her…

"It's Nothing…" Yu calmly told her in response as he continued to rest. Meanwhile off to the side by Yukiko, Chie was doing squats as Tomoe coached her on…

"Come on, Master! We've been training for this moment; don't say you're tired already!" Tomoe drilled her user as she completed a fourth set of 50 squats…

"No!" Chie strained to speak to Tomoe as she began doing push ups…

"Those two need to relax; I mean that strong shadow can't be that bad right?" Yosuke chatted up with his persona Jiraiya by the other side of the hallway as they relaxed before going beyond the door.

"…" Jiraiya silently remembered how hard that stupidly strong shadow hit him and Yosuke with its Rampage skill… he can still feel the bruises subconsciously…

"Uh, Jiraiya…?" Yosuke grew concerned by his silence.

"Thanks for helping me in getting rid of that shadow, sensei!" A Cheerful Teddie hung around by the resting leader of the Inaba Investigation Team and Izanagi.

"We're not done yet… Let's go everyone…" Yu got up from his resting place and commanded the team to form up by the Throne room's doors. Yu and the others rush into the throne room with Teddie running to the sidelines, The Contrarian King stood before them, the Large Shadow prepared itself as the group surrounded it, weapons drawn…

" _Yukiko! Focus on support! Don't attack it with Fire!" Yu with his katana in hands, shouted over to Yukiko who stood right behind the King-type Shadow's back side while Yosuke and Chie stood on its sides..._

" _Huh? …A-Alright!" Yukiko stood by as her friends prepared themselves to face off with The Contrarian King._

" _Let's go, Tomoe!" Chie Kicks her persona card to summon Tomoe. Twirling her naginata, Tomoe casted Rebellion on her user, enabling her to get more good shots in…_

" _Yosuke, Support Chie!" Yu then shouts over to Yosuke. The Prince of Junes wielding kunai gave a head nod of confirmation._

" _Okay! Let's do this Jiraiya!" Yosuke sliced his persona card to summon Jiraiya. With a flashy spin, Jiraiya casted Sukukaja on Chie, allowing her to steady her attacks. In response, The Contrarian King Casted the spell Red wall, creating a red colored barrier around itself._

" _Yu-kun, he's protecting himself from Fire. Are you sure he's not weak to it!?" Yukiko inquired with confusion as the Leader did not allow her to attack before..._

" _Trust me, He loves Fire! Persona!" Yu crushes his card with his hand, summoning Izanagi._

 _Izanagi casted Matarukaja on Yu's allies and himself with all the might he had. Orange-colored aura enveloped their bodies in an instant, increasing their attacking power. The Contrarian King quickly approached Chie to attack her with Kill rush by using its scepter, she prepared her feet as he raised it against her… He struck but Chie successfully dodged the attack._

" _Persona!" Chie quickly summons Tomoe to counterattack. Tomoe struck with Assault dive against the king and knocks it down… Chie called for an all-out attack, but Yu declined!_

" _Izanagi!" Yu summoned Izanagi to cast Ziodyne, a heavy electric bolt struck the downed Contrarian king from above, the Shadow endured the attack but its bodied was charred by the blast…_

" _He's getting back up!" Yosuke noticed the shadow wasn't completely out of commission, the King rose from its downed state._

" _Yosuke, Yukiko, Chie! Use physical mirrors!" Yu called the others quickly, they instinctually reach their pockets and threw up physical barriers on their bodies to protect themselves from an incoming attack. Yu quickly assaulted the Shadow again with Izanagi's Tempest Slash as it staggered to get back up. The contrarian King casted Marakunda to weaken their bodies._

" _Konohana Sakuya!" Yukiko breaks her card with her red fan to summon Konohana to heal Yu and Chie with Media while Yosuke chucked a handful of purifying salt into the air to cancel out the King's spell._

 _The King attacked with Rampage, an invisible force that struck so quick, it created dust around their battlefield, The King attempted to kill the party in one single berserker-like attack but it was repelled by the magic barriers, the physical force was heading towards unwavering Yu… the others watch as it struck but… Yu masterfully evaded all hits with a single step, Yu summoned Izanagi for another Ziodyne, Damaging The King's body more greatly than before… The Smoldering King grew more aggressive and focused on Yosuke to its left._

 _The King attacks with Hysterical slap, many projections of large hands appeared and started smacking Yosuke's face around but he endured it to the best of his ability…_

" _J-Jiraiya!" Yosuke had his Persona cast Dia on himself to heal up from that good slapping._

" _Tomoe!" Chie called for Tomoe to strike with Assault Dive again, Knocking The Contrarian King down for the count!_

" _Haha! Here's our chance! Let's do it!" Chie called for an all-out attack, they all ganged up on the vulnerable king with their own weapons, enveloping into a big ball of violence. The Contrarian King stood up momentarily after the smoke cleared, before it's body combusted into many little shadows which proceeded to run away in fear…_

"Oh! Did I level up?" Yukiko cheerfully expressed to the group, Yu was honestly getting baffled by the others saying that.

"Hey congrats!" Yosuke gave Yu a friendly slap on the back and pulled him in for a shoulder hug. Chie and Yukiko smiled at the two…

"Thanks, that's it for today guys…" Yu told the others, they headed back to the entrance, though Teddie stayed behind as the others made their way out the door.

"Wow, you guys didn't even need my help…" Teddie sadly expressed, he then quickly caught up to the others.

* * *

Omake #10 – A lot of dancing games trailers Woo Hoo! Persona 5 Anime!

{-The Velvet Room-}

The room between dream and reality, mind and matter lied in rather awkward silence today among its in-habitants… the blue-colored room itself was mostly bare saved for a large sofa and Igor's personal desk.

The protagonists of every major Persona were there, Igor and the attendants had taken their leave to give them some privacy. Minato now known as "Makoto Yuki" in the Persona official canon, sat quietly next to his sister "Minako" in the middle, she was visibly distraught by the news that Makoto, was no longer her brother since he had an official name… She was quivering in her seat.

Yu Narukami of Persona 4 was on Minako's right side on the sofa, he felt incredibly bad for her… Tatsuya, Maya, and Naoya were standing behind the sitting trio, each had a difficult time of what to do or say in their fellow protagonist's time of need…

"Mina… I mean, "Kotone" it's going to be okay." Narukami tried to reassure her the best he could but even he knew that the whole thing really did seem dire, he was trying at least…

"Okay…? HOW IS ANY OF THIS OKAY!?" A frustrated and upset Kotone suddenly turned towards Yu and grabbed him by his collar forcibly in an outburst of raw emotion, Yu was visibly shaken by the tense grip and expression of Kotone's face, it looked very angry but her eyes were feeble. Makoto calmly and without looking at the two, laid his hand gently on Kotone's shoulder to ease her from getting out of control… Kotone soon released Yu's collar, and faced the ground before her…

"Atlus has made me even more not canon… they took my brother away, my songs, and even Theo. Do they hate me? Did I do something wrong? Just why me…" Kotone began to tear up a little, she quickly covered face with her hands as she started to sob quietly, the others grew sullen, Makoto was stone-faced…

"Hashino is gone, maybe they'll allow you to have some sort of small dancing cameo in that Dancing Moon Night game with that Shinjoro guy and that dog Koromaru…" Tatsuya spoke out to her with some optimism, surprisingly. Despite being the negative nancy of the protagonist group, he was also trying for Kotone's sake.

"That game isn't canon anyway so why does it matter?" Kotone argued through her sobbing face, she was right but hey another chance to be in SOMETHING other than a stage play and Portable.

"Here!" Maya, the most positive protagonist moved toward the couch and leaned in and began playfully ruffling Kotone's hair because she thought the girl would like that, and sure enough her successor raised herself from her hands at the feeling of her personal hero touching her, Kotone began to blush at Maya's hand on her head. She still had tears running down her face but felt a little at ease than before… Makoto spoke during this display of affection.

"Well, at least nobody makes fun of your name…" Makoto added with his rather rare little smile, Kotone perked up at his words for a moment, Maya pulled away slowly…

Somewhere in Tokyo, "Ren Amamiya" formerly known as "Akira Kurusu" started to feel like someone is laughing at him behind his back. It wasn't his senpai, was it? Nah…

"Haha…*sniff* that's true!" Kotone giggled at the thought of the P5 Protagonist's name, the girl's face grew a small smile, she still had teary eyes.

"And you're aren't Shin Kanzato from Trinitywhatever, god help that guy…" A thankful-sounding Makoto genuinely expressed to Kotone, he pulled out a handkerchief from his Gekkoukan uniform and slowly offered it to his former sister for all the crying that she did, Kotone gazed at Makoto's hand, surprised by his action. She carefully took it from him and comically blew her nose…

"Yeah… Thanks, Uh… Makoto." Kotone hesitated from calling him "Minato" since that wasn't his name anymore, Makoto reached out and held her hand gently, the female protagonist was confused since he wasn't acting like himself, the others watched on.

"So who cares what Atlus thinks, I mean they made DAN and Persona Q canon on whim and that was just silly wasn't it?" Makoto casually dismissed Atlus's word for how absurd they try to make the stories of those games make sense or seem interesting compared to the main games. (even though I personally like them for what they're worth…) Kotone seemed baffled by what Makoto was saying.

"It's not like being canon is easy anyway, they'll milk you for all your worth and then cast a new guy once they're done, people move on. I wouldn't want my sister to suffer that fate…" Makoto genuinely expressed towards Kotone whose gaze were fixated by the truth in his eyes. Makoto really loved her through and through despite acting like a really cold unfeeling dude with blue hair.

"Sister…" Kotone spoke under her breath, she honestly had trouble believing Makoto still wanted to see her that way even if the "Evil" Atlus denied her existence…

"You're still canon… to me, Kotone." Makoto then slowly pulled her into a tender hug, Kotone was frozen by his words for a moment… She looked at him with an almost joyful smile, she began to bawl once again into her brother's shoulder. Makoto gently patted her back for comfort… she still kept crying, the others around them just adored the sibling tenderness between the two.

"Wow, how sweet and corny. You know, I also a had a twin brother…" Naoya randomly added since he was sort of jealous by watching the two, his twin is dead Idk it's in the manga or something. The crying Kotone lifted her head to face Makoto.

"C-Can I call you Sakuya? You know, maybe just sometimes…" Kotone uttered nervously to her male counterpart, she was sort of embarrassed by asking him for that.

"Sure, even if I think that's too much of a girl's name…" Makoto stated to his sister with a complete deadpan look on his face. The two twins then embraced again in a very loving way, it was not incestuous at all!

"Well, at least the name Souji Seta is basically dead or else I would have to become Rise's boyfriend in-canon…" Yu remarked to himself quietly in his mind as he looked on at Makoto and Kotone, where Rise couldn't disturb him unless she knew where he was exactly, like EXACTLY where he was with the use of her Persona Himiko. Thank god "sweet" Yumiko is keeping her at bay for him…

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait!


	36. Chapter 36

**Note: it's been updated with a little more content, I hope you'll like this rerelease.**

Chapter 36 – Justice Rank 1 and G-G-G-GHOSTS!?

{May 3, 2011} {Cloudy}

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

After Exploring inside the TV, Yu sat down in the living room with Nanako to watch TV for a while... the news comes on, the Announcer spoke clearly.

" _An Inaba Credit Union ATM to the the north of town was destroyed today by an earth mover, and all cash inside was stolen."_

" _The vehicle, which was abandoned at the scene, had been reported stolen by a local contractor. Since the culprit was able to act quickly before the security guards arrived on the scene, the police have..."_

"Dad's late..." Nanako stated to herself, with a sullen face, she lowered her head. Yu had stoic look but his inner Yu had a comical crying face for what's about to happen, Izanagi grabbed the inner Yu and slaps some sense back to him.

 _*RING RING* Nanako's head shoots up in anticipation that the call was from her father, she stands up quickly to get to the phone..._

"Hello, Dad yeah, I'm okay." Nanako held the phone to her face with a spirited smile, Yu listens in on the chatter from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah...Yeah." Nanako's face sank as she listened to Dojima speak through the phone.

"...Okay ...Alright". Nanako looked very broken on the outside, she walked over to her cousin sitting by the living room table with the home phone in her hands.

"He said to give you the phone... He can't take those days off." Nanako calmly gave Yu the phone with her head hanging, she then quickly runs off to her room upstairs before Yu gets a look of her face...

"Hello? Sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight. Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep. And about that time off on the 4th and the 5th... One of the younger guys got sick... And, well, that case he's handling, we can't just let it sit... Looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him." Dojima explained to his nephew on the phone.

"Poor Nanako..." Yu uttered with slight remorse in voice.

"Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden… Um... How's Nanako holding up? Mind comforting her for me?" Dojima requested with a slight sullen tone.

"Sure..." Yu agreed on the home phone with his uncle.

"...Thanks. All right then, see you." Dojima soon hung up, Yu lowered the house phone to his hip…

"Experiencing these sad moments again kind of makes me wish I had a memory wipe instead of this having this groundhog year life." Yu stood up and walked over to dock the house phone...

"We did miss crucial details about the truth that may have probably been placed right under our nose, we defeated those two fog monsters that brought the terrible fog into Inaba. We also apprehended Tohru Adachi as well." Izanagi uttered from within Yu's soul.

"Somethings still not right, huh?" Yu asked the Japanese God with rhetoric before heading up to check on Nanako...

Today was Constitution Day, so Yu had the day off from school. The grey haired teen wondered when it'll rain at night again… He got himself dressed and headed down stairs into the living room.

"Oh, Morning." Nanako noticed Yu coming before the living room, the young was watching TV, as usual. Yu noticed her neutral expression as she gazed into the television screen… *BING BONG* the front door rang. It sounds like someone's here... Yu expected to be Chie, he headed toward the door to open up. Nanako was curious and followed Yu to the door. They opened up for the Satonaka girl, she gingerly came inside and politely removed her shoes, she then faced toward Yu with a smile.

"Oh, cool, you're home." Chie spoke with eagerness to her male friend, she noticed Nanako off by Yu's side.

"Hey, if you're free today, wanna go somewhere? Yukiko's coming, too. How 'bout you, Nanako-chan? Wanna come?" Chie lowered herself to the girl's level to which Nanako jumped slightly with surprise.

"U-Um..." Nanako became hesitant to answer, she looked up toward her older cousin for his decision.

"Yeah, come with us!" Yu told her with a warm smile, Nanako was surprised.

"Huh? I-I can come?" The young girl stammered, Chie chuckles a bit at the odd display of shyness.

"Of course you can!" Chie stated with very optimistic energy, Nanako's eyes lit up with awe. Yu to take Nanako out along with Chie and the others. He and Chie along with Nanako met up with Yosuke, who's still on the clock, and Yukiko, who finished her work back at the inn. The group sat around their usual table in the food court.

"Why'd you bring poor Nanako-chan to a place like this on Golden Week?"

"Where else is there to go?" Chie stated to her friend Hanamura with a deadpan look, Inaba's not really know for popular hangouts.

"I love Junes!" Nanako commented to both with an adorable smile.

"N-Nanako-chan...!" Yosuke held a hand to his chest with meaningful gaze was deeply touched by the little girl's words.

"But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere. Me, dad and Yu-kun were going to make boxed lunches..."

"Wow! You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Chie asked her, Nanako nodded and looked toward Yu here at the table…

"Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, "big bro!" Chie complimented Yu with cheerfulness in her voice, the grey-haired boy turned a little red in embarrassment.

"Big...bro." Nanako wondered about that description of her cousin as Chie spoke…

"Whoa, you can cook? Well, you do seem to be great with your hands-Um, never mind." Yosuke commented but quickly backed away from saying anything else that sounded incredibly gay.

"I-I'm a pretty good cook too, you know...Probably. If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some boxed lunches. Easy as pie! Yeah..." Chie affirmed to both Yu and Nanako, Yu smiled but he really knew the truth about that.

"Uhh, lemme think about-No." Yosuke added with stark sarcasm, Chie became heated.

"What makes you think I can't cook!? Let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie told the sitting Junes boy to her left side.

"My, my, doth the lady protest too much? And hey, I never said I cooked. But I have this weird feeling… Like I'd win anyway." Yosuke admitted bluntly but was also pretty confident about that, Chie.

"Ahaha, I can understand that." Yukiko with a clear idea for how capable her friend Chie is at cooking.

"What the-Yukiko!?" Chie stammered at this apparent betrayal from her best friend.

"Here, Nanako-chan can be our judge. I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking, Nanako-chan!" Yosuke put on a nice smile for the offer to Nanako.

"I don't have a mom. She died in an accident." Nanako told Yosuke for his misunderstanding, the others had shocked looks and the Junes boy quickly regretted his words.

"Hey, Yosuke..." Chie with an earnest look on face, gazed at Yosuke to quickly recover from the mix-up.

"I-I see...Um..." Hanamura stammered a bit in trying to find some words that wouldn't dig himself further into his own mistake, Yu understood that Yosuke couldn't have known and didn't blame him.

"Sorry, I didn't know..." Yosuke apologized sincerely to the younger girl.

"It's okay. Even if I don't have a mom, I have Dad with me. …And now I have a brother, too." Nanako told the group

"And I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!" Nanako added with child-like energy to her voice.

"Y-Yeah? That's good." Yosuke was relieved that she still loved this place.

"We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-chan!" Chie added with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Yukiko told Nanako directly.

"C'mon, Nanako-chan. Let's go get a soda!" Yosuke got up and offered Nanako a drink from the food court.

"Okay!" Nanako eagerly agreed.

"She's a strong girl…" Yukiko stated to those remaining at the table, most children would act differently if they lost a parent in their lives, Yu agreed with the Amagi girl…

"Yeah. She makes me feel like I'm the little kid here. That's it, I'm gonna go get something for Nanako-chan too!" Chie added about Nanako's rather mature attitude for her age, both her and Yukiko went to go get something for their young friend. Nanako quickly returned to the lone Yu at the table.

"Do you want something too?" Nanako gave Yu a carefree smile as she offered… suddenly and without warning, Izanagi shot out of Yu's chest to announce:

"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Justice Arcana."

Yu clearly wasn't amused and Nanako was wondering what he was looking at… The Japanese God quickly retreated inside Yu before he could scold him, Nanako spoke again.

"Uh, Wanna share some takoyaki…?" Nanako asked her Big Bro with a puzzled look, Yu quickly returned his attention to his young cousin and began walking together toward the rest of the group at the food stand. Yu had a fun time with Nanako and friends…

* * *

[Central Shopping District, Evening]

After leaving Nanako at home, Yu and a ghostly Izanagi explored the north side of the shopping district, it was mostly empty, the stars in the sky were lit up from the lack of bright store fronts polluting the natural light, shooting stars could also be seen…

Izanagi gestured with prayer hands after seeing a shooting star race across the sky, wishing Yu well in his Fool's Journey… Yu continued to walk as Izanagi quickly did his prayer, he noticed in Chie eating inside the Aiya restaurant, and thought about talking to her later. Yu stopped walked as he reached the Tatsuhime shrine entrance…

"We could explore the shrine at night, I've seen Fox still there from time to time…" The ghostly image of Izanagi suggested to his user, Yu nodded in response…

"You know, as a kid I use to be terrified of going to Shinto shrines during the night, I thought ghosts could be lurking around and jump scare me."

"I guess thou art not frightened now, Personas are practically ghosts inside thy mind…" Izanagi guessed with a shrug, Yu looked around the shrine but couldn't sense fox around…

"Fox isn't here; she would probably yip at me if she was…" Yu uttered quietly to Izanagi behind him…

"It's quiet here...too quiet. Wait-what the hell's that behind the lion statue near the fortune blessings!?" Izanagi pointed with his finger to the statue of a Shiisaa in a dramatic fashion, a white-colored figure could be seen standing behind it… out of view. Yu steadily approached... sweat started seeping onto the side of his forehead, ghosts really did lurk around at night! the grey-haired boy started to feel fear again even after becoming super brave…

"Didn't thy timid classmate utter a tale of a ghost in this very sh-shrine!?" Izanagi uttered to Narukami in visible fear. After taking a calming breath, Yu and Izanagi slowly looked around the statue... The Japanese God covered his eyes slightly as they continued to approach, expecting some sort of hideous ghost creature, the two actually find a strange-looking woman in white kimono… Izanagi quickly dubbed her "the lady in white" Yu took a sigh of relief that it wasn't a ghost woman… or was she…?

"I apologize from not coming into your view before, I came to offer my fuda to celebrate my child's seventh birthday...However, I'm so hungry I can't even walk...It is truly shameful..." The lady in white explained in a rather sorrowful voice to Yu and his persona, "unknowingly".

"Speak on, O mournful shade! What regrets keep you fettered to this mortal coil? How might we speed your eternal rest!?" Izanagi announced dramatically in comical fashion, knowing she couldn't hear him… he also posed dramatically.

"Shade? Oh, Well… Do you have any red goldfish you could spare?" The Lady in White clearly asked the both of them… Izanagi was stunned in his own dramatic pose...

"...With fish, as it turns out." Yu stated with a slightly amused look at Izanagi's reaction, Yu checked his collection of fish caught, he picks the red goldfish that Marie caught the other day… He gave the woman the goldfish, the lady in white took the fish into her robe's sleeve.

"Th-Thank you very much...This is an expression of my thanks...Please, take this..." The Lady gave Yu a Kingyou Stone in return… Yu looked at the gem in his hand with curiosity.

"This gem… Old Lady Shiroku may take interest in it, we could exchange it for her merchandise…" Izanagi thought as he looked at the gem in his hand, Yu spoke to the lady in white again...

"How can you see this "spirit" that follows me…?" Yu asked the woman curiously, putting the gem in his pocket, Izanagi listened in behind his user.

"They say, people pure of heart could see the kami in this small land of ours…" The Lady in White explained vaguely…

"I see that you looked inside yourself and came to terms with it… is that why he follows you?" The Lady asked as if it was a inquiry, Yu nodded in slight surprised that her guess was sorta right, the Lady in White had a small smile at his reaction…

"Use this power to open the path to enlightenment, farewell…" The Lady in White smiled again and gave a small wave to Yu Narukami, it was getting close to complete darkness.

"I will… Let's go, Izanagi." Yu told Izanagi with another smile to the woman. After waving off, the duo decided to go where Chie was in the district… as they left the shrine, they heard the sounds of bushes rustling near the shade tree…

* * *

 _Omake # 11 – Phoenix Ranger Neo Featherman Episode 18: "The Return of a Condor..."_

[Naoto's Secret Laboratory]

The Inaba Investigation Team stood outside the fortress-like entrance of Naoto's Secret Laboratory in preparation, the dungeon was adorned with large satellites and red-colored banners of the Featherman R insignia.

"Okay Phoenix Rangers, how do you all like your costumes?" Yu spoke to the group as he adjusted the white glove of his Red Feather Hawk Costume. Chie glanced around her costume before putting her Helmet on.

"Isn't the Green one the healer? How do you feel Yuki-I mean Feather Asas?" Green Feather Parakeet asked her friend in the pink colored Ranger costume, Yukiko turns to face her.

"Unless we defeat evil, we can forget about a bright future!" Feather Asas struck a cool Sentai victory pose with her fan, Parakeet just thought she was a little way too into this...

"I'm just amazed you could find the right sizes for everyone senpai... even Teddie." The tall and black-colored Feather Falcon Aka Kanji examined the rest of the group.

"I'm glad. These were really expensive." Feather Hawk responded with a sweat drop.

"Tidy Endorphin Power Stranger ready to roll!" White Feather Horned Owl Aka Teddie strikes his own Sentai victory pose.

"Isn't Yellow the fat one? How the hell does the costume fit Teddie!" Yellow Feather Owl Aka Yosuke noticed this incredible oddity in Teddie's costume size.

"How come I don't get one, senpai...? Why does Yukiko-senpai get pink!?" Rise complained to Feather Hawk, still in her Yasogami high outfit. She wanted to join in on the costume fun, _then suddenly!_

" _Not so fast Rise-san! I have one for you!"_ An enigmatic voice was heard right above the group; the Team glanced up above the Secret Laboratory entrance. Atop the satellite with cape flowing for dramatic effect, it was Phoenix Ranger Black Feather Condor!

Feather Condor Jumps down to meet with the group, landing with an added Sentai pose, she tossed an extra Neo Featherman costume at Rise, she quickly goes into the bushes outside the entrance to change.

"Wait... but I'm already the black one." Feather Falcon noticed the obvious color of Condor. Feather Condor quickly placed a finger on Falcon's mouth and spoke.

"You're just my passable replacement Falcon! Ever Since Condor died in Episode 18 of Featherman R, I never felt the same since... He was my absolute favorite of the team." Feather Condor faced away from the group and uttered with a trembling fist of passion, her cartoony tears flowing in admiration for the late Condor.

"You watched Featherman back then uh, Feather Condor?" Feather Parakeet was a big fan too but not as big as Feather Condor.

"Yes, in my glorious days of youth... I also own the DVD box set of Featherman R." Feather Condor snapped back into her normal self to add rather casually.

"Okay uh, who am I again? I never watched the show..." Rise appeared from the bushes with her purple Featherman costume and asked the nerds of her friends.

"Feather Shoebell." Feather Condor answered bluntly.

"What? Why can't I be a pretty bird like a Swan?" Feather Shoebell wondered if there was such a costume as Feather Hawk quickly hid the Blue Feather Swan costume behind a tree for Naoto.

"Hey why do you get a cool cape? Also Condor was never a girl." Feather Owl questioned and noticed the constantly flowing cool cape of the black Ranger.

"Don't you know your Featherman Lore!? This suit is from the Classic R series plus It's a special custom version I tinkered with..." Condor displays her retro suit with a gesturing hand, scolding Yellow Owl in the process.

"Wow, you even added a skirt..." Feather Horned-Owl voiced his perversity as he noticed Condor's figure in tight spandex, Feather Asas from behind him then smacked Horned-Owl upside the head with her fan for his troubles.

"I'm impressed Feather Condor, good work!" Hawk had a friendly thumbs up to his comrade.

"Th-Thanks Sen-I mean, it's an honor to hear your praise, Feather Hawk!" The Blushing Condor uttered rather nervously in front of the other girl members. Shoebell was not amused, Parakeet was just baffled by her friend's reaction... relax girl, it's just a thumbs up! Asas just wanted to be the Red ranger cause it's her favorite color.

"Alright Phoenix Rangers! Let's go Infiltrate the secret base!" Feather Hawk raised his sword and dashes into Naoto's dungeon, the rest raised their weapons with eagerness.

"Right behind you, Feather Hawk!" Condor spoke with excitement, she carried a naginata and followed her leader inside, the other members go to catch up with her.

"Ugh, why did she get to join?" Feather Shoebell grumbled under her breath running behind the group.

* * *

The 40,000 View Special: Persona 4 Forever More & and… Dancing Games sales… P5 ARENA?

\- Altus is celebrating Persona 4's Legacy with Blazeblue Crosstag Battle, a Blu-ray release of both Anime and the Persona 4 Manga ending this year with 11 volumes total, also Persona 4 Dancing All Night on PS4.

\- Persona 5 Arena is possible made because I REALLY want to play that in the future.

\- The Dancing games did not do so hot with sales and the content isn't enough to validate the price tag at all. Can't really say I'm surprised honestly; these games are way overpriced for no good reason plus 200 dollars' worth of DLC smacked right on top, which some IS ON DISC. They're also pretty much the same game with cosmetic and aesthetic changes so hoping the western release ships both at a reasonable 40 dollars and maybe P4D on PS4 as a separate download.

\- The music is fairly Great to just okay btw.

Ok Enough Persona News reporting, Fanfic time:

\- We'll throw in a Q one-shot along the way because that's too many characters and we are just two people.

\- Omakes Involving the Velvet Room in the style of Eric Andre interviews with the cast of every game from the mainline series and P4 spin-offs. Igor as the man himself with Margaret as Hannibal. Inspired by some nice Arktoon art.

\- Maybe a real Crosstag one-shot? Just Maybe.


	37. Chapter 37

Author Notes: Sorry for the long wait, working a full time job along with some cool new game releases just take it out of me, but since I have more time now, I'm gonna make the series bi-weekly again NO MORE TWO MONTH WAITS.

Hermit Rank 1 – Chapter 37

{May 4, 2011} {Sunny}

Yu spent the day with Yosuke and his fellow sports club friends, bringing along Nanako. Which results in Daisuke calling the little girl "not cute" and making awkward references about being sucked into a TV screen at Junes because they are so huge, someone could fit right in… yeah… Well, on to the next day!

{May 5, 2011} {Sunny}

Yu woke up in his room and sat up from his futon on the floor… with squinty tired eyes, he looked at the big red circle on his calendar by the door… it says "extortion begins". Yu grumbled about having to rely on the Fox despite being very useful in their investigations, maybe he was still baffled by the fact a wild animal understood the concept of money…

"*yawn* today's the first day with the fox…" Yu commented with a big yawn and crawled out of his floor bed and stood up.

"Thou should just go straight to the shrine, there's nothing for us to do today besides spend time with her…" Izanagi advised from within his user's head, Yu then faced the shelf where fresh clothes are stored.

"Hmm… something still baffles me from two nights ago…" Yu wondered about something as he got dressed in his winter clothes.

"what is it?" Izanagi inquired with curiosity inside Yu's mind.

"The lady in white… was she really a ghost? Or really just some weird lady with a craving for fish…?" Yu explained to Izanagi as he thought back to that night… the woman disappeared into the woods around the shrine after talking with them…

"Hmm, I wonder if the fox knows anything, her habitat is the shrine after all…" A serious Izanagi thought hard about it, though Yu had a puzzled look on his face at what he was hearing…

"It's not like we can actually speak with her, Izanagi…" A confused Yu made his way out the room's door after getting dressed…

"Oh, I-I know…" Izanagi spoke in embarrassment at what he had said… the pair left the Dojima residence.

* * *

[Tatsuhime Shrine, Daytime]

Yu arrived at the shrine entrance in the central shopping district. He looked up at the Torii Gate, he noticed the wooden pillars were old and the red paint of the gate was chipping away with time. He began walking through the Torii… Yu looked around and noted that there's no one on the premises… the shrine was mostly covered in dust and Shiisaa statues were not well-maintained. Yu sensed that something was watching him, he looked over his shoulder to the top of the main shrine… it was definitely the fox again… standing on roof of the main shrine building… holding an ema in its mouth.

"…" Yu eyed the fox with a smile of familiarity on his face, the fox was puzzled by this behavior but still jumped down and stood in front of Yu. The fox stared at Yu... the grey-haired boy maintained his smile and reached to the fox with a hand, the mysterious fox nudged the ema into Yu's hand... He remembered the wish that was written on it, the inscription said "Please help Grandpa's legs get better. –Keita". Instinctively, Yu turned the ema around and picked the oddly shaped leaf that was stuck on the back of it. After taking a moment to look at the leaf, Yu still wondered where these even grew around here… Suddenly, he heard the voice of an old man that enter the shrine.

"Oh, not every day you see young'uns like you around here." The surprised old man who walked with a hunched back approached Yu…

"Nobody lives here anymore. I come by to tidy things up once in a while, but lately my legs are so achy, I just can't do it. I've been tryin' to get this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around. Well, I s'pose I'll pay my respects. If my legs don't heal, I can't maintain the shrine. That, and I won't be able to visit Keita anymore. He's my grandson, y'know…" The old man explained to Yu with a somber tone, the man gazed around the shrine… it's becoming more and more dilapidated despite his best efforts… Yu stuck his arm out and showed the leaf to old man with his other hand.

"Hmm!? What's that you got in your hand there? Could it be!? That leaf! That's it! Way back when, my grandmother always used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there! Ah, what memories! But how'd you get your hands on this!?" The old man questioned the boy with astonishment.

"Oh, I found it stuck behind a ema plaque…" Yu stated bluntly but with a smile. The old man didn't mind the boy's tone as he was awestruck of the leaf with incredible healing properties.

"I didn't think you could find those in the mountains anymore. P-Please, young man! Can I trouble you to spare me that leaf!?" Yu cheerfully gave the old man the leaf that was stuck to the back of the ema.

"Oooh, this is it, this is it...Now let's see here..." The old man stuck the leaf onto his leg...

"Oooh, I can feel it! It's working! Amazing! The pain I've been feeling for who knows how long-it just up and vanished! Hm? Hrmmm!? Why, I feel better than I have in years! You really helped me out, young man! I'm so grateful! Now I can visit my grandson! I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!" The old man started zipping with lighting speed to the shrine, he quickly gave his offering to the gods, goes to Yu to rapidly shake his hand and ran to the entrance with restored vigor.

Yu expected that the results were as marvalous as the first time. Not only did it heal his aches, it restored his vitality once again… hopefully for the final time, Yu thought tiredly. The fox looked on from her hiding place with a contented expression… It seemed to understand that the wish on the ema has been granted. The fox moved over and peered into the offertory box as if to check the contents…It even seems to understand that the shrine has received an offering.

*yip* The fox howled in joy at Yu. It seems it has taken a liking to you...It has a mouthful of the same leaves as the one you gave to the old man. It seems the fox has a large stock of mysterious leaves with healing powers.

*yip* The fox is looking up mirthfully at the boy with him smiling in return. Yu then noticed the piles of leaves that fox collected… Izanagi pops out from Yu's body.

 **Thou art I… And I am thou… thou has established a new bond…**

 **It brings thee closer to the truth…**

 **Thou shalt be blessed when creating personas of the hermit Arcana…**

Izanagi announced dramatically between the two in his spooky ghost form, the fox was weirded out by the spirit's behavior.

"Wonder where does it find such amazing leaves…?" Yu kneeled to the fox and picked out a leaf from the pile to inspect it, Yu noticed the fox trotted to the main shrine building… oh, here we go…

*yip* The fox gestured toward the offertory box. Is it offering its services for a price? fucking duh.

*yip* The fox then trotted back to Yu for an answer, he sighed in defeat.

"Yeah Yeah… I get you, I'll pay for your services… again…" Yu's weak smile made the fox visibly happy, the hero's journey is not without expense… monetary expense.

* * *

[Dojima Residence, Evening]

After spending time with the Fox, Yu came and sat down with Nanako in the living room, they watched the local news by the table…

"The prime suspect in yesterday's ATM robbery in northern Inaba was arrested earlier today." The announcer on the TV spoke.

"The alleged thief is Pumena Sushin, a 26-year-old former employee of the company which reported the stolen vehicle. According to the police investigation, Pumena Sushin was..." The news continued, the sliding door in front of the house was opened and shut…

"I'm home." Dojima announced to the two kids at the living room table.

"*sigh* How many days is he gonna call in sick? These rookies lately sure are-" Dojima looked tired from working extra hours… he had paper shopping bags with him.

"Welcome back!" Nanako greeted her dad with a smile, Dojima sat down at the table beside his daughter.

"Nanako… I'm sorry I broke my promise again…" Dojima explained rather disappointed that he couldn't make time.

"Oh, um, my big bro and his friends played with me instead." Nanako explained to her father with a joyous expression.

"I see...Thanks." Dojima gave Yu a grateful nod for doing that with Nanako.

"Oh, that's a Junes bag! What's in it?" Nanako noticed the paper bags Dojima brought in.

"Haha, good eye. Well, today is Children's Day, so I brought you a present." Dojima explained the gifts for the occasion.

"Yaaaay!" Nanako cheered as she dug in the gift bag that her father got for her.

"Oooh, a t-shirt." Nanako expressed in surprise.

"Haha, it took me a while to decide what to get you. you like it?"

"Oh wow, there's a picture on the front! That's so funny! Ahaha, yay!" Nanako held the shirt gleefully in her hands, Dojima seemed content…

"I got you one, too. Not that you're still a child or anything, but fair's fair." Dojima handed Yu a pair of swimming trunks with an odd design on it.

"…Thank you." Yu thanked his uncle awkwardly while holding the pair of trunks.

"Don't mention it. I thought you might need one soon. Well then...let's eat." Dojima explained since summer was coming.

"Okay!" Nanako was sure hungry!

"My shirt has a platypus on it! doesn't it look funny!?" Nanako showed the shirt to her big bro, he nodded in agreement.

"The ocean's a bit far, but the river's right in town. I'm sure you'll end up taking a swim sometime this year. Make sure to wear that, okay?"

 _"Yes sir, I promise not to skinny-dip, Hee ho."_ Jack Frost whispered inside Yu's soul, Izanagi was annoyed and felt cramped with 11 other personas inside Yu's body.

* * *

Omake 12: _"The Investigation Team's Personas take a holiday!" - Part I_

On one of the many snow days in January, the personas of the Investigation Team decided to do some serious team building exercise like their users do once in awhile... by having fun in the snow! They gathered in the snow-covered Samagawa flood plains, small snowflakes trickled upon the personas' heads as they stood in a circle inside the space between the park shelter and the thin walkway near the Samagawa river...

{Snowflakes}

Izanagi-no-Okami looked up at the white cloudy sky with curious eyes as snow slowly continued to fall, the other personas were doing the same thing until The Leader spoke...

"I don't even remember getting all this snow!" Izanagi opened his arms to catch snowflakes and uttered with somewhat childish excitement, Inaba was completely covered in the stuff!

"Yes, snow did fall but not like this..." Haraedo-no-Okami stood right next to Izanagi, looking inconvenienced by the knee-deep white snow as most of her friends floated over it, Including her lover...

"B-By the Gods! Why couldn't we do team building inside a nice and warm place!" A floating Sumeo-Okami visibly shivered between Haraedo and Takehaya Susano-O, she held herself, using her golden wing to try and keep warm from the REALLY cold ass weather.

"Gotta agree, I make Yosuke keep his place NICE and COZY, just for me!" Takehaya Susano-O teased his sister who then proceeded to ignite herself in anger, which solved her problem for a bit.

"And Me too!" Kamui Moshiri sprung from behind him and added with gleeful expression.

"Yep..." Susano-O slouched in annoyance with the reminder of having a "roommate".

"I agree with Sumeo-Senpai, I'm not really dressed for the cold!" Kouzeon whined to Izanagi as her silver orbs circled the big rings around her scantly-cladded body.

"I don't know, if snow means Yamato can have fun then it's alright with me..." Takeji Zaiten expressed with his robust voice, he noticed Yamato-Sumeragi was lying in the snow making angels.

"Naoto loves to build snow forts near granpa's house! Let's build snow forts!" Yamato added with child-like energy to the group, she quickly rose up from the snow and floated above them.

"...I like the snow and the icy river reminds me of when I was found inside the root of a bamboo." Kaguya uttered in blissful remembrance to her personas, the others looked at her with interest...

"Huh, not to be rude or anything but... why is she here...?" Susano-O rudely pointed at Kaguya near Izanagi and Haraedo, Kaguya's bunny-like ears twitched

"H-Hey!" Kaguya was offended a bit by his words.

"I invited Yu's other Personas to come with us for this since they are considered part of the Inaba Investigation Team but they declined... well, except for Kaguya." Izanagi explained to the other personas.

"They decided not to come?" Haraedo wondered, Izanagi shook his head in tiredness.

"Well, it's not like Lucifer and I are exactly FRIENDS... Beelzebub doesn't like me either nor does Satan. Everyone else is friendly but Yu doesn't have them currently active..." Izanagi answered Haraedo's question, the others simply shrugged.

"Where's **Yomotsu-Okami**? It's odd that she's not here, she'd usually would follow wherever Izanagi-senpai goes." Kouzeon nonchalantly added. From the sound of her tone, Kouzeon's glad that she isn't here with them.

"Oh, like you~" Kamui-Moshiri teased Kouzeon playfully, she jumped at his accusation and became embarrassed as Izanagi remained clueless about Kamui meant.

"She couldn't come, said Yumiko needed her for the day." Izanagi stated to Kouzeon casually, answering her rather rhetorical question.

After deliberating in the cold for a while, much to Sumeo-Okami's chagrin...

"Hmm, what can we do for team building in this snow?" Izanagi pondered with a hand on on his chin.

"Snowball fight!" Kamui suggested cheerfully, wanting to slug Susano-O for fun. Susano-O was already making an icy snowball from a clump.

"Making Snowmen!" Yamato-Sumeragi barked with enthusiasm, Izanagi-no-Okami took in the suggestions.

"Hmm, let's see... making snowmen could be fun! Okay guys, I'll form teams of two!" Izanagi told the others.

"..." Kamui-Moshiri's smiling face grew a look of disappointment.

"Susano-O and Sumeo are team 1." Izanagi announced with a stanch tone.

"WHAT!?" Both siblings exclaimed, the two exchanged nasty expressions at each other, well except Sumeo... but if her clenched trembling fists were any indication, she wasn't happy for this.

"Kamui and Haraedo are team 2." Izanagi announced while pointed at both of them.

"Hmm. As the two main Bufu personas, this may be easy for us!" Haraedo-no-Okami prepped herself to work with Kamui-Moshiri who began contemplating saucy ideas for "snow women". Haraedo saw the look on his face and just shook her head.

"Kouzeon and Kaguya are team 3." Izanagi-no-Okami told the two with a very commanding tone, both were startled and looked at each other.

"..." both of them pouted, they really don't like each other.

"Takeji Zaiten and Yamato are team 4." Izanagi told them happily as if he shipped it by any means.

"Let's do this!" Takeji Zaiten bellowed, he raised his sword as if was a battle...

"Teamwork!" Yamato-Sumeragi also raised her sword together with Takeji in joy of this.

"Wait, why do they get to be together?" Sumeo-Okami questioned her dad with an accusing tone, Izanagi jumped at her words in fear, he cleared his throat.

"Because... their chemistry is high and their teamwork will pose a challenge to most of you, I expect only the finest snowmen! I shall judge them!" Izanagi-no-Okami explained casually, everyone else just accepted it with whatever explanation.

"Great..." Susano-O was not gonna enjoy this one bit, no sirree.


End file.
